Evaluation of the leftovers-ingestion Index of the meals offered by an educational institution in Sao Luis--MA/Avaliacao do Indice Resto-Ingesta da alimentacao oferecida por uma instituicao de ensino em Sao Luis--MA/Evaluacion del Indice Resto-Ingesta de la alimentacion ofrecida por una institucion educativa en Sao Luis--MA

The inadequate management of organic waste generates impacts on the environment and health. The index capable of indicating the levels of food waste in a Food and Nutrition Unit (UAN) is the leftovers-ingestion, being the ratio between the waste discarded by diners and the quantity of foods and preparations offered. Therefore, the objective is to evaluate the leftovers-ingestion index of a UAN in an Educational Institution in Sao Luis/MA, investigating its causes and consequences. For this purpose, the waste from 1025 diners was identified and weighed daily, from 11/14/2022 to 06/23/2023. The leftovers- ingestion index is equal to the mass of the waste after meals, divided by the number of meals served, in percentage. The leftovers-ingestion values were stratified: optimal (0 to 3%), good (3.1 to 7.5%), poor (7.6 to 10%), and unacceptable (>10%). As a result, it was observed that food waste was 1263.40 kg, while the leftovers-ingestion had an average value of 4.96%. It is noteworthy that, in 7 days, the leftovers-ingestion values were considered OPTIMAL (0 to 3%), in 44 days were GOOD (3.1 to 7.5%), and 4 days were POOR (7.6 to 10%), there were no UNACCEPTABLE values (>10%). It is concluded that the average value of the leftovers-ingestion index (4.96%) was GOOD, falling below the UNACCEPTABLE value (>10%). It is worth mentioning that the analysis of the leftovers-ingestion index plays a significant role in the evaluation of the UAN, allowing an understanding of the quality of the meals provided, indicating the preferences and characteristics of the diners, as well as their acceptance regarding the offered menus. Keywords: Solid Waste. Organic Waste. Leftovers-ingestion Calculation. Composting. O inadequado gerenciamento dos residuos organicos gera impactos no meio ambiente e na saude. O indice capaz de indicar os niveis de desperdicio alimentar de uma Unidade de Alimentacao e Nutricao (UAN) e o resto-ingesta, sendo a relacao entre o residuo descartado pelos comensais e a quantidade de alimentos e preparacoes oferecidos. Portanto, o objetivo e avaliar o indice resto-ingesta de uma UAN em uma Instituicao de Ensino em Sao Luis/MA, investigando suas causas e consequencias. Para tanto os residuos de 1025 comensais foram identificados e pesados diariamente, no periodo de 14/11/2022 a 23/06/2023. O indice restoingesta e igual massa dos residuos apos refeicoes, dividido pelo numero de refeicoes servidas, em percentagem. Os valores de resto-ingesta foram estratifi