The UPNA, in collaboration with the CNTA, works to design and prepare healthy meals for people with oropharyngeal dysphagia with the aim of “expanding the offering of food products suitable for those who suffer from difficulty swallowing solids and liquids”.
Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a swallowing disorder that makes it difficult to swallow food (solid, liquid, or both) to the point of cause choking and suffocation. Although “it is underdiagnosed”, it is estimated that around two million people suffer from it in Spain.
This condition particularly affects very elderly people or people suffering from certain strokes and neurodegenerative diseasessuch as stroke, cerebral palsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or ALS.
This alteration “not only compromises the nutritional status of those who suffer from it, but also affects their quality of life, making their social integration difficult.” So that the the diet of these people is “safe and effective”it is necessary to adapt the texture of foods and prepared dishes.
Thus, researchers of ISFOOD Institute of the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) and the National Center for Technology and Food Safety (CNTA) are collaborating on the design and development of new dishes that, “in addition to having a modified texture, are also nutritious”.
The EHCALIDO project, coordinated by ADItech (agent of the Navarrese System of R&D+i-SINAI) and financed by the Government of Navarra, attempts to “increase the limited supply of dishes adapted to the needs of these people”.
This project focuses on two areas: the identification of objective analytical tools to assess the adequacy of the textured foods and the development of new food formulations rich in dietary fiber.
While the UPNA studies product development For use in hospital and residential settings, the CNTA assesses the viability of producing prepared meals on an industrial scale, as well as their storage stability throughout their useful life.
THE “RELEVANT ROLE” OF SPEECH THERAPISTS
In the multidisciplinary approach of this initiative, the researcher Maria Teresa Murillo Arbizuwho leads this project at UPNA, highlights the professional experience of speech therapists who support patients diagnosed with swallowing difficulties. “Their experience is crucial to understanding the dietary needs of these people,” he stressed.
Furthermore, the researcher emphasizes the importance of “developing objective tools that facilitate the design of food by companies. more suitable for this population group“.
In this sense, the work team uses various instrumental techniques to analyze the physicochemical properties of more than a hundred foods already available on the market, such as gelled waters, purees, yogurts and drinkswhich could be consumed by people suffering from oropharyngeal dysphagia, or unconventional products aimed at this consumer group, such as mashed potato omelette.
At this stage of research, work is being carried out to standardize analysis techniques “which could be interesting” for the food industry. Both integration of collected information because their analysis is carried out with data science tools.
USE OF BY-PRODUCTS FROM THE FOOD INDUSTRY
The project also addresses the production of foods rich in dietary fiber from by-products of the food industry, like the artichokewith two objectives. “On the one hand, improve the intestinal motility of people with oropharyngeal dysphagia and, on the other hand, contribute to the sustainability of the local industry,” explained the researcher.
For this, he transforms the by-product in a processed ingredient rich in dietary fiber and is incorporated into formulations developed to comply with the European Regulation on nutritional declarations of foods, including the label “source of dietary fiber” and “high dietary fiber”.
The team Researcher at UPNA It is made up of María José Beriáin Apesteguía, Francisco C. Ibáñez Moya, Kizkitza Insausti Barrenetxea, Débora Villaño Valencia and Arantza García Amézqueta, in addition to the aforementioned María Teresa Murillo Arbizu.
