Unilever Food Solutions attended the 2026 Aged Care Catering Summit in Sydney Australia to find out about the latest trends, developments and innovations for chefs in the industry.
There were three clear themes discussed by aged care specialists across a range of presentations and panel discussions.
The subject areas were:
- Digital transformation
- Allergens
- Dementia and texture-modified food.
1. Digital transformation
Providers who have digitised their systems and processes successfully are reporting they have created efficiencies which, in some cases, have meant the time and cost savings can be reinvested into the quality of food and food service being provided.
“The challenge is how to be a hospitality service in an increasingly regulated arena.”
In Australia, Bryan Seeborun, Process and Product Innovator at Regis Aged Care and Dinesh Subramani, Head of Hotel Services at Mecwacare have both implemented comprehensive digital systems that bring all their foodservice processes, clinical teams and reporting into a single platform.
Chefs, kitchen and dining teams now have real-time data that increases resident safety, choice, and provides instant feedback to the dining team so they can provide better quality, individualised service to residents.
- Food options - for example, a change in texture levels made by a speech pathologist will be instantly reflected in the meal choices made available to the specific person.
- Food ordering - visual menus help people choose a meal option and assist non-verbal residents to make an informed choice that reflects their personal preferences.
- Reporting - one touch reporting can provide the information needed for
Procurement
Meal planning
Clinical input and feedback
Budgeting
Aged Care Quality Standards audits.
Moving from a disjointed paper-based system to a fully integrated digital platform benefits everyone in the food supply chain in aged care. Importantly, it allows for improvements in the dining experience and quality of meals for residents.
“Residents don’t connect with compliance. They engage with flavour, nostalgia, experiences and emotion.”
2. Allergens
The percentage of residents who have allergies and food intolerances is increasing and allowing for different dietary needs and preferences is now part of menu planning and meal preparation.
Aged care providers who are moving to digitised systems are able to easily customise menu selections to the needs of individual residents.
Communication and education are also important. They help not only residents but also carers, family and friends understand the reasons a resident is on a particular diet, and clarify the differences between allergens, intolerances and food preferences to avoid confusion and misunderstandings.
The National Allergy Council Australia now has comprehensive residential aged care specific resources available.
Food Standards Australia & New Zealand also provide information that may help aged care food service professionals.
3. Dementia and texture-modified food
With the average age of people entering residential aged care in New Zealand at 84 yrs old, many residents are frail and have pre-existing conditions. According to Te Ara, approximately 60% of people living in permanent residential aged care have dementia.
People living with dementia have a higher occurrence of swallowing difficulties and often require texture-modified diets.
This means there are increased needs across the board for swallowing-related conditions as well as food allergy requirements - all adding to the complexity of meal planning and food service in aged care.
As Dinesh Subramani from Mecwacare recounted; when he provided easy-to-eat finger food in a grazing format rather than fewer, larger set meal times, the level of agitation experienced by those with dementia at his home dropped significantly.
Providing meal choices in a range of IDDSI levels is helping aged care chefs give their residents choice while balancing risk and safety needs. Making sure residents are actively involved in what and when they eat improves the dining experience and supports choice and autonomy.
“When residents need assistance eating, carers often mix texture-modified foods on the plate before the resident has had time to look at, and process what foods are present. All they see is a brown mush. Let them see the individual foods and indicate what they would like to be served.”
One of the strongest messages from this topic was about communication between clinical, dining and care teams. Clear, regular communication about individual residents and their care needs is essential and must be part of an ongoing conversation, not a ‘when something changes’ update.
“Texture needs change significantly with the level of health an individual is experiencing. Don’t leave people on the same level by default - reassess often.”
IDDSI is planning to launch online training modules for aged care chefs - sign up to IDDSI e-newsletter for updates.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is created for inspiration purposes only. It is not intended as clinical, medical or nutritional advice.
