More food and packaging accessible

almost 9.4 million people in Spain are over the age of 64According to data from the Spanish Confederation of Organizations of Older Persons (CEOMA). A group that will gradually increase due to the aging of the population. For this reason, there is a growing interest and demand for food and products suitable for the elderly. The goal is to increasingly improve quality of life and health at these ages. In order to meet the demands of this group, many companies have already begun to open up to the idea of ​​it Allocation of food, both physical and nutritional, is becoming increasingly necessary.

custom nutrients

AINIA Institute of Food Technology is one such center. One of the lines in which they work in the Technology and Operations department is to develop new products designed to meet the needs of different demographics.

“Older adults do not only need products adapted to their needs, but also certain nutritional components, such as vitamins, minerals, calcium and iron …”, explains Beatrice Perez-Grilles, agronomist and head of this department.

Examples of new developments

Example coated ironintended for bakery products. “The goal is to be taken without noticing the bad taste. Because we also work a lot with sensory panels to gradually adjust products to the situations and needs of each type of population, ”says this expert.

Specifically, on this computer Scents, ingredients and prepared foods are being developed. We have created a vegetable puree that is rich in various nutrients. Chicken with a different texture than usual, softer To avoid choking when swallowing. Everything is microwavable, easy to open and has a valve that allows for perfect cooking,” adds this engineer.

Other products they designed are a A powder that dissolves in milk and has very specific nutritional requirementsWhich is high in protein and designed above all for people with anorexia.

These types of specialty products haven’t made it to supermarkets yet, but it’s only a matter of time. “Companies are increasingly becoming convinced that personalization of food is becoming increasingly necessary,” says Perez Grayles. “Because it’s not just about making it for the elderly, but also for very different types of populations, from People with problems grasping objects, swallowing difficulties, arthritis or sequelaehe explains.

for people with disabilities

In Spain there are more than 4.3 million men and women with some kind of disabilityaccording to the National Institute of Statistics (INE) in its 2022 “Disability, Personal Independence, and Dependency Conditions” survey. These numbers demonstrate the need to provide more accessible products to these people to help them with their independence.

“Accessibility is something that makes us think of an incline, but it’s a much broader concept. It’s in all contexts of our lives, it’s episodic,” notes Paloma Syed, an occupational therapist from the ONCE Foundation’s Directorate of Access and Innovation. “There’s a lot People with strength problems who cannot open a regular container or who have difficulty cooking or peeling and cutting fruitHe continued.

Calculate the accessibility of the product

There are many higher centers that have developed some tools aimed at reversing the condition that Paloma Syed describes so well.

The University of Cambridge was established in the United Kingdom Exclusion calculatora A tool that allows an assessment of the number of people who cannot use a product or service due to the requirements imposed on its management. Sight, hearing, thinking, dexterity and mobility are the parameters that users – from 16 to 85 years old – value when accessing this calculator.

The exclusion calculator inspired Mondragon University to develop its own tool called inculologistIn collaboration with the ONCE Foundation. This tool allows you to provide characteristics of a product or service and, based on them, Calculate the percentage of people excluded by the design. The goal is to help determine the degree of exclusion and prioritize accessible design in the development of new products and services.

To start Uses inculologistAnd Simply enter the steps needed to use a product or service on the web. Next, you have to answer a series of usability questions, evaluating visual, auditory, cognitive, dexterity, and motor abilities. Using this data, Inklugi evaluates the percentage of the population that will be left out in terms of the various values ​​listed above. At the same time, this tool seeks Increase awareness and awareness of the importance of design from a holistic design perspective.

Accessible packages

Another Spanish project that seeks to make products more accessible – in this case for people with visual impairments – is NavelenceDeveloped in collaboration with the University of Alicante. This technique consists of including squares of high contrast colors on a black background on the packaging of various products.

An application on the user’s mobile phone is able to read this code, from a distance of up to three meters (12 times farther than what is required to read a QR or barcode) and without having to focus on it directly. with NaviLens It is possible to read aloud all information about ingredients, allergens and recycling. In Spain, it is already used by some branded products such as Kellogg’s, Coca-Cola or Ariel.

ONCE Corporation has also contributed to the design of various kinds of assistive products. They have an agreement with the Royal Council on Disability thanks About five new accessible 3D products are designed each year And hang them on your website So that anyone can download and print them for free. If someone does not have a 3D printer, the organization is also responsible for providing this service. Among the products that can be accessed there Easy to open bottle cap Cutlery handle.

despite of The number of commercial products is still small, and several lines of research are underway. These innovative proposals will undoubtedly allow for further development in the short term. This means that if there are already spaces in supermarkets dedicated to products for vegans or vegetarians, their existence for the elderly or people with disabilities does not seem far-fetched. Although before, perhaps, a definite regulation or seal allowing their identification should be provided.