The Meal Composition Approach - a new way of optimising the quality of foodservice products

The objective of this paper was to introduce a new approach for foodservice professionals to compose meal solutions, with a focus on optimising the quality and variation of end products. Modularisation principles were used to develop the Meal Composition Approach, supporting the process of translating consumer requirements into meal composition, based on knowledge of component properties and interactions, as well as processing, a central aspect of food production. The approach consists of seven steps, which can be used at several levels as a framework to approach meal composition and consumer satisfaction in a systematic manner. This research fills a gap in the literature, describing a holistic approach to meal composition, which considers quality issues in relation to specific meals. Furthermore, modularisation has not previously been described in relation to food products.