Environmental performance assessment instrument for food service: development and validation

Abstract

The production of meals in Food Service (FS) corresponds to a series of steps that require the use of resources such as food, water, and energy and generate solid waste, requiring the adoption of strategies to minimize damage to the environment and protect workers health. This research aimed to develop and validate an environmental performance assessment instrument for FS. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out from August 2022 to August 2023 in four stages: 1) Development of an environmental performance assessment instrument in FS; 2) validation of the instrument's content by a panel of experts; 3) Analysis of the reliability of the validated instrument, using the Pearson correlation test and 4) Assessment of internal consistency through the application of the instrument in twelve FS and the evaluation of the correlation of the checklist items using the Cronbach's Alpha index. The instrument developed comprised 77 items addressing aspects of environmental performance and environmental conditions in meal production. Eight experts participated in the content validation in two rounds of evaluation to obtain consensus, calculated by the content validity index (CVI). The items of the validated instrument presented a Pearson coefficient equal to 1 (r = 1) and Cronbach's alpha equal to 0.9391, providing maximum reliability and high consistency. It is concluded that the checklist developed presented content validity, reliability, and internal consistency, proving to be an important instrument to assist nutritionists and food service managers in establishing goals for the production of healthy and sustainable meals. (c) 2024 Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos - ITAL. All rights reserved.