O consumo de peixe anchoita na alimentação escolar: aceitabilidade e adesão

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of including anchovy fish in school meals regarding acceptability and adhesion and the factors that lead to its consumption by students in public schools of Rio Grande do Sul. Materials and Methods: The research was a cross-sectional study conducted in public schools of Rio Grande do Sul consisting of two stages: the first stage analyzed acceptability by means of the Hedonic Scale method and adhesion to "pasta with anchovy sauce"; the second stage evaluated student adhesion to different preparations with anchovy fish. Collected data was analyzed using SPSS 18.0 program, where the percentages of acceptability and adhesion were established. The project was approved by Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Ethic Committee by the number of 21550, taking into account all the legal criteria to scientific research on human beings. Results: Step 1, acceptability: 26.533 schoolchildren participated in this phase, wherein 10.169 of whom were from state schools, 6.278 from Rio Grande, and 10.086 from Porto Alegre. Step 2, adhesion: 25.778 students from 77 state schools and 22 from Porto Alegre were part of this stage. In step 1, it was found that 68, 71 and 81% of the students, respectively, from state schools, Rio Grande and Porto Alegre liked the preparation. Adhesion was of 64% in state schools and 62% in Rio Grande schools, while in Porto Alegre it was 45%. In step 2, the average adhesion was 92.1% for pizza, 72.3% for polenta, 87.5% for potato, 83.9% for bread, 72.9% for risotto and 68.5% for pasta. Conclusion: We believe it is possible to include anchovy fish in school meals through initiatives that promote fish consumption.