This study has assessed the adequacy of energy and nutrients in school meals offered to elementary students in a rural county of the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil; the values recommended in the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) were used as reference. It is an observational cross-sectional study developed in public schools through the analysis of portions offered to students aged 6 to 10 years old. Eighteen randomly selected school units (50% of total) were visited. Meals prepared by school cooks were weighed and portioned by 5kg capacity (1g accuracy) digital scale, according to standardized protocol. Dietpro 5i software was used for energy and nutrients quantification. The average portion offered weighed 248g, and contained 388 calories, 62g carbohydrate, 13g protein, 9g total fat, 2g fiber, 202µg vitamin A, 9.8mg vitamin C, 116mg calcium, 2.3mg iron, 42mg magnesium and 1.1mg zinc. The values for energy, carbohydrate, protein, lipid, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and magnesium exceeded the recommendations of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE); on the other hand, the amounts of fiber, calcium and zinc were lower than the recommended ones. It is necessary to reformulate some aspects of school meals in the county in order to conform to the nutritional recommendations, such as incorporating more fruit and vegetables in the daily menus, defining and standardizing the portion of the foods/meals offered and continuously monitoring the activities defined in the school meals plan.
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