Using Herbs and Spices to Increase Children's Acceptance and Intake of Vegetables in School Lunches

January 3, 2018 updated by: Kathleen Loralee Keller, Penn State University
Herbs and spices offer one potential solution to the recent decline in children taking school lunch because they can increase the palatability of foods without adding salt and fat. However, there is currently limited evidence on how to successfully integrate herbs and spices into the school lunch menu. Developing evidence-based methods to teach school cafeteria workers to prepare healthy and tasty vegetable dishes with the addition of herbs and spices is a research priority. The investigators hypothesize that herbs and spices can be used to increase acceptance, intake, and participation in the school lunch program among 6th - 12th grade students from Central Pennsylvania.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

What this study will add to the literature: Herbs and spices offer one potential solution to the recent decline in children taking school lunch because they can increase the palatability of foods without adding salt and fat. However, there is currently limited evidence on how to successfully integrate herbs and spices into the school lunch menu. Developing evidence-based methods to teach school cafeteria workers to prepare healthy and tasty vegetable dishes with the addition of herbs and spices is a research priority. This research will provide evidence that herbs and spices can be used to increase acceptance, intake, and participation in the school lunch program among 6th - 12th grade students from Central Pennsylvania.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

110

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Wingate, Pennsylvania, United States, 16823
        • Bald Eagle Middle/High School

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

11 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Student in Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School
  • Parents of students in Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School
  • School Food Service Employees at the Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Students/children who have food allergies to herb/spice blend ingredients.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Spice Intervention
Spice intervention: Student-approved vegetable recipes will be served in the school cafeteria.
Other: Spice Intervention
Spice Intervention:Novel herb and spice blends will be used in cafeteria recipes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Surveys defining barriers to vegetable consumption at Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School
Time Frame: Baseline
Conduct surveys of students, parents and food service experts to gather information describing ways to increase vegetable intake at Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School
Baseline
Taste tests to quantify the change in liking of vegetable recipes
Time Frame: Baseline and after recipe development (approximately 10 months). Prior to intervention.
Student's liking of vegetables prepared with herbs/spices will be assessed during the taste tests by setting up sensory panels in their culinary and consumer education classes. Participating students will rate liking and will provide written feedback to inform recipe development.
Baseline and after recipe development (approximately 10 months). Prior to intervention.
Change in vegetable plate waste
Time Frame: Baseline, Intervention and Follow-up (1 and 6 months)
Weight of vegetable disappearance from the school cafeteria, minus waste weight, in kg.
Baseline, Intervention and Follow-up (1 and 6 months)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
School lunch program participation
Time Frame: Baseline, Intervention and Followup (1 and 6 months)
Percentage of children who are participating in the school lunch program will be assessed the school years prior to and immediately after the intervention
Baseline, Intervention and Followup (1 and 6 months)
Post-meal comment cards
Time Frame: Baseline, Intervention and Followup (1 and 6 months)
Student's will rate satisfaction with the school lunches by completing anonymous, post-meal comment cards during the baseline, intervention, and follow-up phases.
Baseline, Intervention and Followup (1 and 6 months)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Age Covariate
Time Frame: Baseline
We plan to assess age to see if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.
Baseline
Weight Status Covariate
Time Frame: Baseline
We plan to assess weight status to see if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.
Baseline
Parental Feeding Practices Covariate
Time Frame: Baseline
We plan to assess if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.
Baseline
Parental Education Covariate
Time Frame: Baseline
We plan to assess if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.
Baseline
Family Culture Covariate
Time Frame: Baseline
We plan to assess if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.
Baseline
Family Intake of Herbs/Spices at Home Covariate
Time Frame: Baseline
We plan to assess if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.
Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Penn State University

Collaborators

McCormick Science Institute

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Kathleen L. Keller, PhD, Penn State University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 14, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 22, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

December 22, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 6, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 11, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

August 13, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 5, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 3, 2018

Last Verified

January 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Spiceinschool01
  • Spices (Other Identifier: McCormick Science Institute)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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