Montclair State University - Upper Montclair, New Jersey, USA

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MONTCLAIR, N. J. – Substantial nutrient loss in food occurs in hospital foodservice operations, according to Montclair State University researchers whose findings were recently published in the Journal of Foodservice.

The study, led by Dr. Charles Feldman, a professor at MSU’s Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, quantifies how much Vitamin C – as a marker of nutrient quality – is retained at various stages of processing at two New Jersey hospitals.

The study found that the nutrient quality of Vitamin C was significantly reduced– by as much as 86 percent at a hospital in an inner-city neighborhood – by the time the food reached patients.

Many nutrients, including Vitamin C, degrade at high temperatures. This loss may result from food being heated to a temperature much higher than recommended by hospital foodservice so as to still be warm when served to patients.

As improved nutritional status correlates with faster healing and recovery, leading to reduced hospital stays, the study’s authors concluded that hospitals need improved cooking methods to reduce the loss of nutrients in foods served to patients.

Physicians, dietitians and menu planners rely on published standard nutritional values, but these standards are derived from experiments made in ideal conditions and fail to consider the various handling, holding and delivery methods that are common in hospitals, according to Dr. Feldman. A more vigorous approach to patient nutrition is needed, he contends, both in terms of food preparation methods and in assessing the actual nutritional status of hospital food.

The study, which appears in the June issue of The Journal of Foodservice, was co-authored by Goutam Chakraborty, Taraneh Hazhin, Shannon Kane, Martin S. Ruskin, Jeffrey Toney and Shahla Wunderlich from the MSU Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.


MSU Researchers Find Hospital Food Could Lack Nutritional Value
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		Contact: John Patella Office of Communications and Marketing 973-655-4333 patellaj@mail.montclair.edu MONTCLAIR, N. J. – Substantial nutrient loss in food occurs in hospital foodservice operations, according to Montclair State University researchers whose findings were recently published in the Journal of Foodservice. The study, led by Dr. Charles Feldman, a professor at MSU’s Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, quantifies how much Vitamin C – as a marker of nutrient quality – is retained at various stages of processing at two New Jersey hospitals. The study found that the nutrient quality of Vitamin C was significantly reduced– by as much as 86 percent at a hospital in an inner-city neighborhood – by the time the food reached patients. Many nutrients, including Vitamin C, degrade at high temperatures. This loss may result from food being heated to a temperature much higher than recommended by hospital foodservice so as to still be warm when served to patients. As improved nutritional status correlates with faster healing and recovery, leading to reduced hospital stays, the study’s authors concluded that hospitals need improved cooking methods to reduce the loss of nutrients in foods served to patients. Physicians, dietitians and menu planners rely on published standard nutritional values, but these standards are derived from experiments made in ideal conditions and fail to consider the various handling, holding and delivery methods that are common in hospitals, according to Dr. Feldman. A more vigorous approach to patient nutrition is needed, he contends, both in terms of food preparation methods and in assessing the actual nutritional status of hospital food. The study, which appears in the June issue of The Journal of Foodservice, was co-authored by Goutam Chakraborty, Taraneh Hazhin, Shannon Kane, Martin S. Ruskin, Jeffrey Toney and Shahla Wunderlich from the MSU Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. MSU is New Jersey's second largest and fastest growing university. It offers the advantages of a large university -- a comprehensive undergraduate curriculum with a global focus, a broad variety of superior graduate programs, and a diverse faculty and student body -- combined with a small college's attention to students. More information on the University is available on its website: www.montclair.edu. October 24, 2006 (Go to the Past News Releases)
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