GOOD EATS?
Picking apart that hospital food.
For many people, hospital food hardly evokes thoughts of haute cuisine.
Rubbery meat and Jello blobs can be experiences that leave a lasting bad taste for patients.
A QMI Agency Niagara Facebook posting this week generated dozens of comments about hospital meals in Niagara and elsewhere, nearly all of them uncomplimentary.
“Disgusting,” was a common refrain. “Patients need real, healthy food,” wrote another.
A recent study reports some of the salt-laden meals might even not even be very healthy for you.
Responding to t he poor reviews, a senior Niagara Health System manager said hospital staff work diligently to ensure meals are healthy and palatable to as many patients as possible.
When NHS hospitals serve 2,500 meals a day, “you have to balance taste and flavour with the flexibility of meeting all the different diets,” said Lisa Slack, the system’s regional director for nutrition and food services.
Meanwhile, a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine said hospital food in Ontario is far saltier than the highest allowable limits recommend.
A high sodium or salt intake is linked to high blood pressure, the leading cause of stroke.
That recently released study examined food served to patients in three provincial acute- care hospitals.
It found all bedside meals had more than the recommended daily amount of sodium, with the mean amount in menus where the patient made no food choices a sky-high 2,896 mg.
An adequate intake is considered to be 1,500 mg. per day, with the tolerable upper limit at 2,300 mg, according to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation.
“It really does indicate sodium levels are quite unacceptably high in hospital patient menus,” said Joanne Arcand, lead author of the University of Toronto study.
Arcand said the unnamed hospitals in the study have since implemented sodium-reduction measures. She said further studies are examining other aspects of hospital food nutrition.
Slack said in-patient hospital menus at the NHS are developed by established guidelines and following Canada’s Food Guide. Meal fat, salt and nutritional components are all assessed, she said.
“As a hospital, our first and foremost responsibility is to lead by example and follow best practices,” said Slack, a registered dietitian.
“That means serving meals as healthy as possible in a hospital setting.”
She said food service staff listen to criticism, patient surveys are done and menus can be adjusted accordingly.
“We take all our feedback seriously,” she said.
Andre Laflamme, manager of environmental health for Niagara Region’s public health department, said inspectors monitor f ood safety in the region’s hospitals, but not food content or quality.
“We do inspect (hospital food preparation) on a routine basis,” Laflamme said.