Audit of the national meal guidelines for home-delivered and centre-based meal programs.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the National Meal Guidelines on service providers and caterers involved in home-delivered and centre-based meal programs in Australia.

Methods: An anonymous online survey was conducted to explore the uptake of the guidelines by participants and evaluate the impact on their practice. Closed questions were analysed using χ and Fisher's exact tests, while open-ended questions underwent thematic analysis to identify key themes.

Results: A total of 101 out of 441 participants completed the survey (response rate of 23.0%). Most participants (69%) were currently referring to the guidelines, particularly for nutrition guidelines, menu planning and auditing tools. Key barriers to implementation were cost, supplier compliance issues and lack of staff education.

Conclusions: The National Meal Guidelines have been successfully implemented in many services around Australia. Further research should investigate their impact on customer satisfaction and external supplier compliance.