Hospital Food Service

Hospital foodservice is complex and can be considered as one of the most complicated systems in the hospitality sector with many interrelated factors. Hospital menus should be based primarily on clinical needs as well as on patients’ preferences and other important characteristics such as variety, quality, aesthetics, and taste of the food. However, if food is regarded as medicine, then necessary dietary modifications can make meals unappealing (e.g., low-sodium diet). Barriers to adequate food intakes are multifactorial and complex and require multilevel interventions, including a change in the awareness and attitude toward food among healthcare staff and older hospital patients. To be successful, the priority interventions need to be feasible in practice, in terms of the availability of human resources, budget, infrastructure, and time. Menus are an important tool for the foodservice as they are the first point of contact with the patient. A therapeutic diet is modified from a “normal” diet and is prescribed to meet a medical or special nutritional need. It can be part of a clinical treatment, and in some cases can be the main treatment of a condition. Furthermore, food safety is a critical part of this whole process, particularly when preparing and serving food for hospitalized patients who are likely to be more susceptible to foodborne illness due to their health status and decreased immunity. Still, in all foodservice settings there is an increasing demand for greater attention to the environmental impact of the food production. These are factors that are likely to have increasing prominence, with a demand for the use of more locally sourced foods, recycling, and improved energy efficiency.