OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the molar ratios of phytate:Zn and phytatexCa:Zn/MJ in meals for school children aging from 7 to 14 years. METHODS: Recipes were standardized in a school and submitted an acceptance test by assessing meal leftovers. The availability of zinc in the usual meals was determined by calculating the molar ratios of phytate:zinc and phytatexCa:Zn/MJ. The dietary calculations were done with the program Nut Win (version 1.5) and 15 and 22 were used as cutoff values for the molar ratios of phytate:Zn and phytatexCa:Zn/MJ respectively for proper Zn absorption. RESULTS: The results show that 50.0% of the preparations present risk to the absorption of zinc according to the phytate:Zn ratio and 40.0% according to phytatexCa:Zn/MJ ratio; 82.0% of the diets offer less than 15.0% of the recommended calcium amounts and 63.6% are very likely to be inadequate regarding lipids. CONCLUSION: The use of the molar ratios to assess the school menus indicates that zinc availability may be low. This could be reversed by serving good sources of zinc, such as meats, more often.
Phytic acid; School feeding; Children; Zinc
