Preparações alimentares dulcificadas de consistências modificadas submetidas ao teste de fluxo

Abstract

Dysphagia is swallowing difficulty that affects a wide age range, including people with neurological diseases. Dehydration, malnutrition, and lung infections are the most common complications of this disorder. To ensure the food safety of these patients, the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) aims to standardizing food consistencies for different degrees of dysphagia, using an eight level diagram. The objective of this study was to analyze different sweetened food preparations of modified consistency, indicated to dysphagic patients through the flow test and to classify them according to the levels proposed by IDDSI. The sweetened recipes described by Carvalho-Silva (2015) were used. The samples were grouped into four categories: "D" for candy chocolates, "M" for mousses, "P" for pavés and puddings, and "S" for ice cream. To perform the flow test, the plunger of the syringe should be removed. Cover the tip of the syringe with a finger and fill it up to the 10 mL mark. Remove the finger and let the food flow for 10 seconds; the remaining quantity in the syringe is directly related to the levels (1-4) of the IDDSI diagram. For the candy chocolates, samples D01 and D02 had similar behavior in the "pudding" consistency, with D02 maintaining level 4 even after the addition of 114,29 mL diluent, while D01 reached level 3 for "honey", "nectar" and "thin" after higher content of diluent. In the mousse samples, additional tests such as fork and spoon tilt were required, as samples M04, M10, and M11 exhibited a thicker consistency (level 5). Sample M10 exhibited level 5 for the 'pudding' condition, after the addition of 85.71 mL for the 'honey' consistency, it was classified as level 7 'normal.' However, with more diluent, the 'nectar' and 'thin' conditions showed levels 3 and 2, respectively. These data demonstrate the importance of conducting tests after the addition of the diluent, as it can modify not only the viscosity but also the adhesion and cohesion of the food. For the pavés and puddings, samples P01 and P08 exhibited similar behavior, reaching level 4 for 'pudding,' level 3 for 'honey' and 'nectar,' and level 2 for 'thin.' Proposal P07 maintained level 7 for the 'pudding' and 'honey' consistencies. For the ice creams, they were analyzed at different times (T0 after removal from the freezer, T1 after 30 minutes, and T2 after 60 minutes at room temperature. The S01 ice cream presented level 2 in the three times for the "thin" consistency. However, in the nectar and honey conditions, in T0 they presented level 3 consistency and in T1 and T2 they changed to level 2. For pudding consistency in T0 it presented level 4, but for T1 and T2 it became level 3. The S04 sample, with the exception of the nectar consistency, had a change in the IDDSI level, at T2, the other levels remained under the same level at room temperature. Although some preparations reached the appropriate IDDSI levels, others did not correspond to the suggested classifications, highlighting the importance of an international standardization with simple methods that can be used by people with dysphagia, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.