OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to make cookies with buriti oil for school meals and analyze their acceptance and nutritional content. The study also assessed schoolchildren's dietary vitamin A intake. METHODS: A control batch was made using 15% soybean oil and two batches were made using 7.5% and 15% buriti oil, respectively. The following were then assessed: centesimal composition, vitamin A content and acceptance by 201 children. Consumption of vitamin A by these children was also investigated using a semiquantitative questionnaire listing 28 good dietary sources of vitamin A. RESULTS: The cookie containing 15% buriti oil was well accepted and presented higher protein, mineral and vitamin A contents, so it may be considered a source of vitamin A. Consumption of foods with low vitamin A content was high and intake frequency of fruits from the Brazilian northeast was low. CONCLUSION: Cookies containing buriti oil may be an alternative source of dietary vitamin A in school meals. However, the consumption of fruits and vegetables with this vitamin should also be encouraged since schoolchildren consume a small variety of dietary sources of vitamin A, which increases their long-term susceptibility to vitamin A deficiency.
Cookies; Food consumption; Students; Vitamin A
