Qualidade nutricional dos cardápios de um restaurante popular: uma análise pelo IQ COSAN adaptado.

The Popular Restaurants emerge as a governmental strategy to promote food security and ensure access to adequate food for vulnerable populations. To fulfill their role in health promotion, it is essential that the meals offered are nutritionally balanced. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of the menus offered at the Popular Restaurant (PR) in the municipality of Macaé, Rio de Janeiro. For the assessment, the adapted IQ COSAN tool was used, which allows for a qualitative analysis of menus based on the guidelines of the Brazilian Dietary Guidelines. In the adaptation for the PR, the daily score of 2 points allocated to the vegetarian option was redistributed, adding 1 point for the presence of meat and eggs and 1 point for the inclusion of fresh fruit. Thirteen weeks of lunch menus served between April and June 2025 were analyzed, totaling 65 evaluated meal-days. The results showed that weekly scores ranged from 56.5 to 71.5, and monthly averages were 63.7 (April), 65 (May), and 66 (June), all within the “needs improvement” range. The food groups evaluated daily—such as cereals, beans, vegetables, and meat and eggs—were present on all days analyzed. Regional foods were also observed every week. All weeks showed an alert for low fruit availability, with fruit being offered at most twice per week. The presence of ultra-processed foods was also observed in all weeks. Processed foods were present in all 13 weeks, with a high-offer alert recorded in four of them.