Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: food innovation for frail residents earns nomination for Senior Deli
- Team of researchers and specialists working on way to make softer food options more appetising
- Group working to make life better for those who have difficulty chewing and swallowing
As people grow frail with age, chewing and swallowing food can be difficult.
Now a team of researchers and specialists in Hong Kong is looking to address the problem.
Abellona U Mei-ran and her team at Senior Deli are developing a variety of products that aim to cater for people living with dysphagia, or difficulty in swallowing, who need to follow a puréed or soft food diet, often leaving them with limited and unappetising options.
“Purées are unappetising and tasteless,” she said, adding patients with dysphagia were often put off by the bland food.
“This may reduce the amount of food consumed by the patients. In the long term it can lead to malnutrition and worse health.”
She said her team was eager to help enhance patients’ nutrient intake by enriching their menus with more appealing dishes.
Senior Deli’s menu features pre-packaged soft meals, such as beef with carrot. Designed by dietitians and catering specialists, the texture-modified ready meals come with varying degrees of fineness, including soft and bite-sized, minced and moist, and puréed.
According to U, their soft meals are made to appeal to the local palate while meeting the dietary needs of the elderly living with dysphagia.
“Our meals look exactly the same as the [traditional Cantonese dishes] we eat every day,” she said. “It’s just that, through our processing, they are much softer.”
That has been made possible by the application of Senior Deli’s patented enzyme technology to break down fibre in foods.
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In developing a thickening agent that can be mixed with drinks, such as water, tea and milk, to allow easy swallowing and thus avoid choking, her team also put a lot of work into ensuring the thickener was fit for consumption.
“We tried back and forth to make sure the powder was easy to dissolve in different liquids,” she said. “It poses a risk if lumps are formed, and get stuck somewhere in the throat.”
The annual event, co-organised by the South China Morning Post and property developer Sino Group, celebrates the achievements of remarkable people whose endeavours may otherwise go unnoticed.
Senior Deli has been recommended for this year’s Spirit of Innovation award, which recognises individuals who are behind breakthrough technologies or innovation for the good of society.
According to U, Senior Deli was founded by a group of young people who wanted to help older adults manage difficulty swallowing.
Her team has visited care homes across the city, preparing soft food meals on the spot and introducing the new fare to residents and their carers there.
Teammate Sandy Chung Sin-ying said she expected more work was needed to promote the diet and change the mindset of potential followers.
“Our team is working hard to improve the quality of life for the elderly,” she said.
Jim Wong Kin-yi, another member of the Senior Deli team, said he was pleased to see care home residents enjoying their meals.
“We were touched,” he said.
