MG Food Solutions Pty Ltd in partnership with Calvary Aged Care and Flinders University has been awarded an ARIIA grant for their project ‘Measuring consumer’s health and outcome benefits of switching from clinical dietary supplements to a food first approach to address malnutrition’.
This research is designed to explore if serving a nutrient-enriched (fortified) food product improves nutritional outcomes and food satisfaction for residents whilst reducing food service resource utilisation in aged care homes compared to serving separate food and dietary supplement products. Specifically, the research will investigate the performance of the fully integrated Food Imperative fortified dairy dessert product compared to using a combination of standard ice cream in meals and then addressing nutrient intake deficiency with a separate clinical dietary supplement (CDS), most likely in the form of a liquid supplement.
The use of a CDS is often very expensive, and if not consumed by the consumer, it can be a significant waste of money whilst failing to achieve the desired clinical outcomes. Therefore, switching from CDS to a food-first approach will also allow economic savings not only for the aged care providers but also for the healthcare system.
By undertaking this research, we will determine whether replacing standard ice cream and a CDS with a nutrient-fortified dairy desert results in improved outcomes for residents and aged care homes.