Distinction for Prolepsis Institute at the 14th Hellenic Congress of Nutrition and Dietetics & the 3rd Hellenic Congress of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism

The scientific announcement presented by the scientific team of the DIATROFI Program, entitled ‘’The nutritional value of the DIATROFI Program meals compared with respective commercial products’’ highlighted the high nutritional value of the meals distributed to schoolchildren over similar commercially available ready-to-eat meals, as well as the contribution of the Program as an example of good practice among projects providing food at schools. 

As mentioned in the publication, the DIATROFI Program meals outweigh the respective commercial products, since strict specifications were followed for their design and production, not only regarding their individual ingredients (e.g. exclusive use of extra virgin/virgin olive oil in all meals, inclusion of whole wheat flour in over 60% of the total flour used in all bakery products, no use of processed meat products, avoidance of all preservatives and all artificial additives), but also regarding specific nutrients (e.g. added sugars, salt). In more detail, it was confirmed, through laboratory analyses, that every DIATROFI meal had: a. lower total fat and b. lower saturated fatty acids, while most DIATROFI meals had: a. lower total sugars, b. higher protein and c. higher dietary fiber content.

Additionally, the second scientific announcement entitled "Microbiological/chemical quality parameters of meals in the school-based Program on food aid and healthy nutrition promotion - DIATROFI: Compliance with specifications and correlation with findings observed during inspections in food suppliers' facilities" was also distinguished with praise. This work verified the effectiveness of the control procedures applied by the scientific team of the Program in order to ensure the high level of hygiene, safety and quality in the distributed meals. The procedures ensured proper hygiene standards during production/packaging of the meals and harmonization with the strict specifications regarding critical parameters of hygiene/quality.

The titles and topics of the scientific announcements:

• "The nutritional value of the DIATROFI Program meals compared with respective commercial products". M. Kouvari, C. Kastorini, P. Georgakopoulos, K. Belogianni, A. Veloudaki, A. Pantazopoulou, A. Linos on behalf of the DIATROFI Program Research Team. 14th Hellenic Congress of Nutrition and Dietetics & 3rd Hellenic Congress of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, 24-26 November 2017, Athens, Greece.
• "Microbiological/chemical quality of meals in the school-based Program on food aid and healthy nutrition promotion - DIATROFI: The linkage with hygiene practices observed during inspections in food suppliers' facilities". P. Georgakopoulos, C. Kastorini, M. Kouvari, A. Pantazopoulou, I. Markaki, A. Haviaris, A. Veloudaki, A. Linos on behalf of the DIATROFI Program Research Team. 14th Hellenic Nutrition and Dietetics Congress & 3rd Hellenic Congress in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, 24-26 November 2017, Athens, Greece.