The new meals fall within the National Patient Safety Agency’s ‘Category E’ descriptor, which requires food to be soft, tender, moist and easily mashed with a fork.
The ‘Category E’ line joins apetito’s full range of texture modified food, which already includes ‘Category D’ dishes – which are also soft, but need very little chewing – and ‘Category C’ dishes that are puréed for those in more advanced stages of dysphagia.
The range of 19 meals includes a selection of meat, fish and vegetarian options such as cottage pie, chicken curry, cheese and onion potato pie and salmon supreme, with plans to introduce further dishes later in the year.
apetito dietitian Helen Blunn said: “The addition of Category E dishes means we can help care homes, hospitals and community meals services cater for residents who don’t have to rely on a fully mashed or puréed diet, but who could have difficulty chewing or swallowing ‘normal’ food.
“We’ve chosen these dishes in particular as they’re texture modified versions of meals that are popular across our range. They will also be familiar to those who have previously relied on our Category D and Category C meals and have moved on to Category E for the final stages of their return to a normal diet. As with each of our texture modified meals, every dish has a high nutritional content, as dysphagia sufferers usually need extra nutrients – particularly if they’re recovering from an illness such as stroke.”