Desenvolvimento e aceitabilidade de croquete de batata doce, couve e frango por pré-escolares do município de Cuité-PB.

Abstract

Early childhood education is the first stage of elementary school and one of the crucial phases of life. In this phase, the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills occurs, which support the evolution of skills to be developed in the future, with emphasis on the role of educational institutions as promoters of an adequate and healthy diet. Preschool refers to the age group between 2 and 6 years old and is characterized by a slow and steady growth rate, as well as unpredictable and variable eating habits. In view of this fact, it is essential that at this time different foods are offered, as well as continue to serve those that are already available in your daily life, but in different preparations and formats, contributing to the reduction of food selectivity and neophobia, quite prevalent at this stage of life. Therefore, the present study targeted to develop and evaluate the acceptability of sweet potato, cabbage and chicken kibble in a school environment. To achieve the above, a sample of 117 untrained tasters, aged between 4 and 6 years, 11 months and 29 days of both sexes, participated in the study. In addition, all children participating in the study had the Informed Consent Form (TALE) and the Free and Informed Consent Form (TCLE) signed by their parents and were regularly enrolled in two elementary schools in the urban area of Cuité-PB. Also, as a way to assess the acceptability of the product, a five-point Hedonic Facial Scale was used. From this research, it was possible to verify that the sweet potato, cabbage and chicken croquette has the potential to be inserted in school meals and high acceptability (83.76%). In addition, the participating educational institutions visualize the environmental, economic and social importance of using the full use of food, as well as information on the numerous benefits of using sweet potato, considering that it is a well-accepted, versatile and large-scale cultivated food throughout the state of Paraíba.