Acceptance of Dishes based on Mechanically Separated Meat of Tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) in a Public School, Brazil

In Brazil, due to economic and social factors, public policies are needed to grant access to quality nutrition in school. This provision should respect the local food culture; however, in the North, the region with the highest production of inland fisheries, fish consumption among students is still very low. The aim of the present study is to characteriz e Tambaqui ( Colossoma macropomum ) MSM, suggest planned school dishes based on this MSM and assesses their acceptability among students at the elementary and high school levels in northern Brazil. The study was carried out over one month and was a quantitat ive (hedonic scale and leftover/intake index) and qualitative research about preference. The participants were 120 elementary - and high - school students chosen randomly after they were authorized by their parents or legal guardians. Fish - based dishes were i nserted in the diet of schoolchildren and their acceptability was evaluated. The children were also inquired about their fish consumption routines. The statistical analyses used were frequency tables and chi - squared independence test associated with Fisher 's exact test. Two dishes were well accepted by the students; however, the results showed that fish acceptance among younger students are higher than among adolescents. So, policies that promote fish intake and a healthy lifestyle must be stimulated since the early grades.