North East care company announces plans to introduce new techniques to puree food for residents

A North East care company has revealed plans to introduce pureed food for residents with dysphagia.

More than 60 per cent of older people have dysphagia, caused either by old age or as the result of an illness or health condition, whilst Alzheimer’s Society estimate 80 per cent of people living in care and nursing homes have a form of dementia or other memory problems which could result in difficulty eating.

Helen McArdle Care began trials of German based ‘Smoothfood’ in their homes earlier this year after meeting with food innovation company, Biozoon. After seeing the positive impact Smoothfood was having on residents, Helen McArdle Care have since trained all their chefs within the group ready to introduce the technique in all their homes.

Head of catering at Helen McArdle Care, Sean McArdle, said: “Five years ago I attended a training course called ‘Focus on Undernutrition for the Elderly’ and part of the course was a practical session based on preparing food and feeding people that have difficulties swallowing. During the training we shaped and moulded food to make it look more presentable, still calling the food ‘peas’, ‘carrots’, ‘casserole’. I found this difficult to understand as I knew that the pureed food would never have the texture of the food it was supposed to be.”

“Although I had some understanding of the distress that people must go through when they have difficulties swallowing and eating, until this training I never realised just how limited the options for food and hydration were. From that day I was determined to make it better.”

After participating in the course, Mr McArdle and catering development manager, Del Penman spent time researching how Helen McArdle Care could improve the daily eating experience.

Owner of Biozoon, Matthias Kück, said: “When Sean came over to Germany with Del in January I was excited about his enthusiasm and commitment to learn more about the Smoothfood concept. He is one of the most honest people I have come across and really shows a passion for changing the quality of food which is being served to people with swallowing and mastication problems in the UK today.”

Biozoon’s Smoothfood have created a range of different pureed food techniques to help older people who have problems with eating solid food, allowing them to benefit from nutritional, enjoyable meals.

Smoothfood uses thickening and gelling agents within food to ensure that it has the correct texture and can be easily broken down when consumed, food is then shaped into its original form, making it aesthetically pleasing.

Results from the trials have proved positive and the catering and care teams within the group’s homes have seen improvements in the form of weight gain, and an increase in appetites, particularly from residents who found eating difficult due to different illnesses and dysphagia.

Catering development manager Del Penman said: “There are other pureed food techniques used in the UK that are moulded to look like the foods that they represent but we can’t stress enough how different Smoothfood is and what an impact it has made to our residents and also the reassurance it has given families. It has been heart-warming to see how this technique has changed their quality of life and dining experience for the better.

“We are serving everything from a full English breakfast, to gammon and pineapple, to chicken curry – all with the individual elements to the dish, helping it to taste like it should do. Some people thought they would never again experience the textures and tastes of their favourite foods and now they can!”

Mr Penman is now working with Mr McArdle to help bring Smoothfood to the UK for other healthcare providers with future plans to make the Helen McArdle Care Training Academy a centre of excellence to train chefs in the use of Smoothfood techniques across the UK.

For more information on Smoothfood, visit: http://smoothfood.de/?lang=en/