Compared to research conducted in 2023, the latest findings reveal an ‘alarming’ rise from 29%. Apetito suggests that the current landscape of care catering is making it increasingly difficult for homes to deliver appropriate nutrition across all resident groups.
Apetito says it is equally concerning that there has been a decline in care homes with personalised nutrition plans in place for every resident – dropping from around half to just 17% based on latest data.
When asked specifically about catering for residents living with food allergies, 57% of care providers identified cross-contamination as a concern - up from 40% in previous findings.
Richard Woodward, general manager of care homes at Apetito, commented: “We all understand the importance of getting nutrition right within care home catering – it’s fundamental in supporting resident health and maintaining quality of life. However, the complexity of this is often an under-recognised challenge, especially as dietary needs become more diverse and clinically important.
“Therefore, it is concerning to hear just how stretched many homes are when it comes to delivering personalised nutrition. Preprepared meal solutions, designed with both nutrition and convenience in mind, can be an invaluable tool in easing some of the operational burden for homes and supporting catering teams to deliver safe, tailored meals in a more manageable way.
“And it seems this sentiment is recognised in the sector, with research showing that six in ten homes would look at switching to a preprepared meal solution if allergen safety and ‘free-from’ standards could be guaranteed.”