Blossom Foods

In a hurry, and couldn’t catch our last post about IDDSI? No problem! This quick reference guide gives you a rundown on the key elements of IDDSI Levels 4, 5 and 6. For those of us who are visual learners, we’ve provided photos to make it easier to compare each texture. As you can see, there is a clear difference in consistency and food particle size as you upgrade from Pureed to Minced & Moist and Soft & Bite-Sized. This is an important reason why individuals should consult ...their healthcare teams prior to upgrading their diets, and healthcare staff must be adequately trained to recognize appropriate foods for each diet level. Featured in this quick reference guide is our fresh Zucchini, sauteed with onions and seasoned lightly with salt to bring out the vegetable’s natural flavors. Zucchini can surely be enjoyed alone, but we also think it makes a wonderful side in our Scrambled Eggs, Turkey Sausage, and Zucchini breakfast plate and Eggplant Parmesan, Zucchini and Fruit Cocktail meal (Offered in Levels 4, 5, and 6). If you’re curious about our complete list of menu offerings, check out our website at www.blossomfoods.com.

IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative) is a framework that provides standard descriptions of modified texture foods and liquids for those with dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing. Its intention is to be used globally and across all care settings, so whether you are a patient in a hospital in the United States or a healthcare provider across the world, the criteria for modified texture diets will remain the same. Serving foods that are inconsistent i...n texture may cause severe safety hazards for a person who already has difficulty swallowing. For that reason, IDDSI created official terms, numbers, and colors that correspond with food and drink levels, as seen in the graphic below. When coupled with physical food and drink descriptions, these characteristics are especially valuable in minimizing confusion between the patient, caretakers, and healthcare professionals and improving patient safety. We know complying with IDDSI’s guidelines may make food production more time consuming and challenging. To make that simpler, our team has taken to specializing in IDDSI food levels 4 (Pureed), 5 (Minced & Moist), 6 (Soft & Bite-Sized) and 7 (Regular offered in Renal Meals only). Generally, pureed foods are smooth throughout, able to sit in a mound atop a spoon or fork, cannot be drunk through a straw, and should fall off a spoon when tilted. Minced and moist foods are soft enough for the tongue to mash and whose pieces are small enough to fit through the prongs of a standard fork. Soft and bite-sized food pieces are no wider than the width of a fork, are tender and easily mashed with a fork, and require some chewing ability. Each of these levels requires a different level of chewing and swallowing ability and are best used under the direction of a healthcare professional. For a full description of each level and more information on IDDSI, visit www.IDDSI.org. Check back soon for more information from our Education Team!

New in 2021: Blossom Foods Education Series This series is brought to you by the Blossom Foods Education Advancement Team (BF EAT), comprised of our team of Speech Language Pathologists and Registered Dietitians. Our focus this coming year is education. With the combination of our backgrounds, we hope to highlight IDDSI, dysphagia, and nutrition in an approachable, easy-to-understand way.... Look out for future launches on Facebook and our website at www.blossomfoods.com. If you have suggestions for specific topics you'd like to see, feel free to leave them in the comments below!

In a hurry, and couldn’t catch our last post about IDDSI? No problem! This quick reference guide gives you a rundown on the key elements of IDDSI Levels 4, 5 and 6. For those of us who are visual learners, we’ve provided photos to make it easier to compare each texture. As you can see, there is a clear difference in consistency and food particle size as you upgrade from Pureed to Minced & Moist and Soft & Bite-Sized. This is an important reason why individuals should consult ...their healthcare teams prior to upgrading their diets, and healthcare staff must be adequately trained to recognize appropriate foods for each diet level. Featured in this quick reference guide is our fresh Zucchini, sauteed with onions and seasoned lightly with salt to bring out the vegetable’s natural flavors. Zucchini can surely be enjoyed alone, but we also think it makes a wonderful side in our Scrambled Eggs, Turkey Sausage, and Zucchini breakfast plate and Eggplant Parmesan, Zucchini and Fruit Cocktail meal (Offered in Levels 4, 5, and 6). If you’re curious about our complete list of menu offerings, check out our website at www.blossomfoods.com.

IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative) is a framework that provides standard descriptions of modified texture foods and liquids for those with dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing. Its intention is to be used globally and across all care settings, so whether you are a patient in a hospital in the United States or a healthcare provider across the world, the criteria for modified texture diets will remain the same. Serving foods that are inconsistent i...n texture may cause severe safety hazards for a person who already has difficulty swallowing. For that reason, IDDSI created official terms, numbers, and colors that correspond with food and drink levels, as seen in the graphic below. When coupled with physical food and drink descriptions, these characteristics are especially valuable in minimizing confusion between the patient, caretakers, and healthcare professionals and improving patient safety. We know complying with IDDSI’s guidelines may make food production more time consuming and challenging. To make that simpler, our team has taken to specializing in IDDSI food levels 4 (Pureed), 5 (Minced & Moist), 6 (Soft & Bite-Sized) and 7 (Regular offered in Renal Meals only). Generally, pureed foods are smooth throughout, able to sit in a mound atop a spoon or fork, cannot be drunk through a straw, and should fall off a spoon when tilted. Minced and moist foods are soft enough for the tongue to mash and whose pieces are small enough to fit through the prongs of a standard fork. Soft and bite-sized food pieces are no wider than the width of a fork, are tender and easily mashed with a fork, and require some chewing ability. Each of these levels requires a different level of chewing and swallowing ability and are best used under the direction of a healthcare professional. For a full description of each level and more information on IDDSI, visit www.IDDSI.org. Check back soon for more information from our Education Team!

Well, we may be about a month late but as the saying goes, "Better late than never!" We've been pretty delayed in general on updating our customers so we hope to start today. Our response to COVID has been as successful as it could be. With our additional sanitizing stations and space requirements, we have been fully operational. 2020 saw a great year for our team and company in terms of growth and commitment. We are extremely grateful that each of our team members have emb...Continue reading

New in 2021: Blossom Foods Education Series This series is brought to you by the Blossom Foods Education Advancement Team (BF EAT), comprised of our team of Speech Language Pathologists and Registered Dietitians. Our focus this coming year is education. With the combination of our backgrounds, we hope to highlight IDDSI, dysphagia, and nutrition in an approachable, easy-to-understand way.... Look out for future launches on Facebook and our website at www.blossomfoods.com. If you have suggestions for specific topics you'd like to see, feel free to leave them in the comments below!