Afyonkarahisar province regional dishes: Evaluation with five different nutrient profiling systems

Nutrient profiling is a system which evaluates foods according to their nutrient content and it can be applied to foods and beverages, menus or daily dietary patterns. It is known that local cuisines are generally evaluated in terms of gastronomy, however, it is thought that it is also important to evaluate the effects of cuisines on nutrition and health. This study was conducted to evaluate the local dishes of Afyonkarahisar province with five different nutrient profiling models. The models used in the study were NRF9.3, FSA-Ofcom WXY, SAIN-LIM, Nutri-Score and Choices Program. Within the scope of the study, the recipes were divided into 7 groups and 52 regional recipes were evaluated. As a result of the study; according to the average NRF9.3 profile score, salads received the highest score and the soup received the lowest score. According to FSA-Ofcom WXY scores, 36.54% of local dishes were defined as less healthy and 63.46% as healthier. According to the SAIN-LIM profile, 17.31% of local dishes were defined as Class 1, 30.77% as Class 2, 13.46% as Class 3 and 38.46% as Class 4, with Class 1 being recommended for consumption and Class 4 being recommended for limited consumption. According to the Nutri-Score profile, 26.92% of the local dishes were identified as Class A, 25% as Class B, 28.85% as Class C and 19.23% as Class D, with Class A being the highest quality and Class E being the lowest quality. No recipes belonging to category E were found. According to the Choices program criteria, 3,85% of the local dishes were defined as suitable and 96.15% as unsuitable. There was a strong and positive correlation between the rank scores of some models. In conclusion, it is thought that it would be useful to evaluate the local dishes of Afyonkarahisar province in terms of portion size, saturated fatty acids, sodium and added sugar content. In line with the findings of the study, it is recommended that authorities should make adjustments and nutrient profiling should be actively used as a supportive tool for nutrition in public health.