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Inflexões nas concepções de qualidade da alimentação no Programa de Alimentação Escolar brasileiro

Changes in the conceptions of food quality in the Brazilian School Feeding Program

Cambios en las concepciones sobre la calidad de los alimentos en el Programa de Alimentación Escolar Brasileño


Patrícia Camacho Dias ; Kamilla Bertu2; Letícia de Souza Bottino Rocha; Daniele Mendonça Ferreira; Luciene Burlandy; Roseane Moreira Sampaio Barbosa.

Patricia Camacho Dias- Fluminense Federal University. pcdias@id.uff.br, ORCID: 0000-0002-0674-8832
Kamila Bertu, Fluminense Federal University. kamillabertu@id.uff.br, ORCID:0000-0001-7296-5598
Letícia de Souza Bottino Rocha., Fluminense Federal University. lbottino@id.uff.br, ORCID:0000-0001-5011-5373
Daniele Mendonça Ferreira. Fluminense Federal University. daniele_ferreira@id.uff.br, ORCID:0000-0001-7122-8270
Luciene Burlandy. Fluminense Federal University. lucieneburlandy@id.uff.br, ORCID:0000-0003-0875-6374
Roseane Moreira Sampaio Barbosa. Fluminense Federal University roseanesampaio@id.uff.br, ORCID:0000-0002-0850-7143


Resumo
O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar as ideias sobre qualidade da AE, instituídas por meio dos documentos legais do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE) no período de 1955 a 2020, a partir das dimensões constitutivas do conceito de SAN formalizado na legislação nacional. Pautou-se no método de análise documental e nos referenciais teóricos do institucionalismo discursivo, as ideias sobre qualidade foram problematizadas à luz do conceito de Segurança alimentar e Nutricional (SAN). Foram analisadas 16 legislações do PNAE considerando o contexto histórico, político e social e as concepções sobre qualidade. A análise foi cotejada com a produção científica, documentos de políticas de alimentação e nutrição, SAN, AE e pesquisas históricas. As ideias sobre a qualidade da AE sofreram transformações em diversos parâmetros e valores, sendo influenciadas pelas políticas de SAN. O PNAE foi inicialmente institucionalizado enquanto um programa de “complementação alimentar” e se consolidou como um programa de SAN, onde a qualidade da AE considera desde a origem dos alimentos até a adequação à cultura alimentar local. Atualmente incorpora as diretrizes alimentares dos Guias Alimentares, indicando que a institucionalização do PNAE potencializa a conjugação de diferentes dimensões de qualidade em articulação com diferentes setores do país.
Palavras-chave: Programas e Políticas de Nutrição e Alimentação; Alimentação Escolar; Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional.

Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyze the ideas about the school feeding quality, established through the legal documents of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) from 1955 to 2020, based on the constitutive dimensions of the food and nutrition security (FNS) concept formalized in national legislation. Using the method of document analysis and the theoretical frameworks of discursive institutionalism, the ideas about quality were problematized in the light of the FNS concept. Sixteen PNAE legislations were analyzed considering the historical, political, and social context and the conceptions about quality. The analysis was compared with scientific production, documents on food and nutrition policies, FNS, school meals, and historical research. The ideas about the school feeding quality underwent transformations in various parameters and values, being influenced by FNS policies. The National School Feeding Program (PNAE) was initially institutionalized as a "food supplementation" program and has consolidated itself as a food and nutrition security program, where the school feeding quality considers everything from the origin of the food products to the suitability to the local feeding culture. Currently, it incorporates the dietary guidelines of the Food Guidelines, indicating that the PNAE institutionalization enhances the combination of different quality dimensions in articulation with different sectors of the country.
Keywords: Nutrition Programs and Policies; School Feeding; Food and Nutrition Security.

Resumen
El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las ideas sobre calidad de la EA, establecidas a través de los documentos legales del Programa Nacional de Alimentación Escolar (PNAE) en el período de 1955 a 2020, a partir de las dimensiones constitutivas del concepto de SAN formalizado en la legislación nacional. A partir del método de análisis documental y de los referentes teóricos del institucionalismo discursivo, se problematizaron ideas sobre calidad a la luz del concepto de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional (SAN). Se analizaron 16 legislaciones del PNAE considerando el contexto histórico, político y social y las concepciones sobre la calidad. El análisis se comparó con la producción científica, documentos de política alimentaria y nutricional, SAN, AE e investigaciones históricas. Las ideas sobre la calidad de los EA han sufrido transformaciones en varios parámetros y valores, siendo influenciadas por las políticas de SAN. El PNAE se institucionalizó inicialmente como un programa de “suplementación alimentaria” y se consolidó como un programa SAN, donde la calidad de la EA considera desde el origen de los alimentos hasta su adecuación a la cultura alimentaria local. Actualmente incorpora los lineamientos dietéticos de las Guías Alimentarias, indicando que la institucionalización del PNAE potencia la combinación de diferentes dimensiones de la calidad en conjunto con diferentes sectores del país.
Palabras clave: Programas y Políticas de Nutrición y Alimentación; Comidas Escolares; Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional.


Introduction
Brazil is an international benchmark in school feeding (SF), due to advances in the food and nutritional quality of meals, investment, and coverage of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE). PNAE has achieved the status of a state policy, with a robust legal framework that has legitimized it as one of the most important programs for guaranteeing Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) in the country1,2,3.
The interface with the FNS principles - consolidated by the articulation between the incentive for local food production, especially those from Family Farming (FF), marketing through institutional purchases and the provision of healthy meals in schools - reoriented PNAE regarding the criteria and school feeding quality dimensions 4. This process contributed to the expansion of the "healthy feeding" concept, with the incorporation of the term "adequate" - which came to include aspects of economic and social development, consider food production models that promote food sovereignty, sustainability (social, economic and environmental), respect for Brazilian cultural diversity 4 and to the expansion of the concept of school feeding quality in PNAE1,4. The demands of different political actors modified the institutional framework, the operationalization of the program and the instruments of public action that reconfigured the school feeding quality.
In this historical trajectory, different food quality aspects were incorporated into the PNAE, relating to nutritional composition; the presence of specific food groups; hygienic-sanitary adequacy; special dietary needs, types of meals, among others5. These changes affected its operationalization and complexity and were conditioned by different social, political, and economic contexts 1,5,6,7. Most published studies address historical processes of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE), but do not analyze the relationship between historical milestones and changes in conceptions of the school feeding quality. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the ideas about the school feeding quality, established through the legal documents of PNAE in the period from 1955 to 2020, based on the constitutive dimensions of the food and nutrition security concept formalized in national legislation 1,2,3.

Methodology
The study was based on the method of document analysis, in dialogue with the bibliographic review, and on the theoretical frameworks of discursive institutionalism8,9, which consider that institutionality is socially constructed through discourses and ideas produced by actors with formal legitimacy and disseminated by official texts.
The transformative power of discourses and ideas, generating institutional changes or continuities, has been increasingly recognized in policy analysis. Discourses can be considered an interactive process that involves not only what is said, but where, how, why, and from whom to whom. Ideas refer to the interpretive schemes and structures of meaning that are shared and legitimized by the actors and enable a specific understanding of issues addressed by policies and programs 9.
The concept of ideas in policy analysis has multiple meanings, and the notion of programmatic ideas stands out here. These can be cognitive, that is, they define public problems or issues in a certain way and configure the "solutions" that public programs intend to present. On the other hand, normative ideas associate values with programs and legitimize them, indicating how they meet certain aspirations, principles, and public norms. The success of a program does not depend solely on the presence of cognitive ideas capable of satisfying public agents that a given solution is adequate and robust to solve a given public problem. It also depends on normative ideas that indicate that those solutions are aligned with certain values that are important to the actors involved and to society 9.
The study analyzed ideas about quality that establish parameters for school feeding and define what should be done to achieve the objectives of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE). Legislation published between 1995 and 2020 was selected, and those that addressed the issue of quality specifically within the scope of PNAE were included in the document analysis, including laws; decrees; ordinances; resolutions and provisional measures (PM), available on the Fund for Education Development (FNDE) website and in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU). In total, 58 legislations were identified, of which 9 were not available on the platforms, 39 were found on the FNDE portal and 10 in the DOU, and 33 were excluded because they did not address the analyzed topic, resulting in 16 legislations being selected for analysis, among which three are decrees 10,11,12 (Brasil, 1955; Brasil, 1956; Brasil, 1965), nine are resolutions 5,6,13,14,15,16,17,18, three are laws 1,19,20 and one is a PM 21 (Figure 1). No legislation was found between the years 1966 and 1993. Although not being the focus of the document analysis, other legislations on school feeding were considered in the discussion of the results found.
Figure 1

The document analysis considered the historical and socio-political context of the documents and ideas about quality, compared with academic studies 3,22,23,24 and with government documents on food and nutrition policies and programs 7,25,26,27,28 and food and nutrition security 2,29.
The institutional framework of the National School Feeding Program underwent important changes based on the food and nutrition security concept, which considers different conceptions of quality 29. For this analysis, the following food and nutrition security dimensions were defined: (1) food and nutrition; (2) access; (3) environmental; (4) economic; (5) hygiene and sanitation; and (6) cultural. The data analysis combined deductive thematic coding, based on the dimensions of the Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) concept, and inductive coding, based on the empirical categories of the set of documents related to each dimension. Subsequently, these initial categories were grouped into intermediate categories according to common elements. Finally, final categories were defined, which express the main conceptions of quality found in the analyzed documents, based on the identification of similarities and differences regarding ideas about quality over time, later grouped into five historical periods, according to the changes found 30. These ideas were problematized in the discussion, based on the correlation with the elements of the different socio-political contexts directly related to the changes found, in dialogue with academic studies.

Results
The analysis of legislations made it possible to relate the previously defined quality dimensions with the respective categories and aspects of each FNS dimension. In the food and nutrition dimension, there was greater detail and variety in the nomenclatures and forms of naming foods, such as: fresh, semi-processed, minimally processed, processed, ultra-processed, builder, energy-providing, and regulatory foods. The access dimension encompassed nutritional deficiencies and the expansion of access; the environmental dimension highlighted production models and food producers; the economic dimension highlighted origin and cost; the hygiene and sanitation dimension emphasized the quality standard of foods and the production process of meals; and the cultural dimension emphasized regionality and the approach to traditional communities, eating habits, and agricultural vocation.
Between 1955 and 1965, ideas associated with nutritional deficiencies predominated, appearing as an argument for the supply of international industrialized products. In the subsequent period (1994-1998), the concept of quality began to value agricultural vocation and encourage the purchase of basic products, defined as fresh and semi-processed foods, mainly to reduce costs with purchasing logistics.
The technical value of nutritionists was incorporated into legislations between 2000 and 2008, which highlighted the food, nutritional, and hygienic-sanitary characteristics of the menu, such as: energy, macronutrients, sensory quality, good manufacturing practices, standard operating procedures, and identity and quality standards. Food and nutrition security (FNS) gained greater visibility during this period, and the emphasis on purchasing food stood out based on new arguments, such as respect for the students\' culture.
Between 2009 and 2015, there was a shift in the operational design of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE), which reflects the repercussions of the expanded perspective of FNS on ideas about quality, especially with incentives for purchasing from family farms, which directly affects traditional communities. This perspective strengthens the values related to the principle of equity that guides the FNS policy, considering the greater social and food vulnerability of family farmers. These reorientations are established as strategies for local development, respect for culture and eating habits, and prioritize the purchase of organic and agroecological foods to encourage healthier and more sustainable food systems. Furthermore, the suitability of menus to the different characteristics of students is identified, as well as a variety of foods referenced in food groups and the establishment of guidelines with prohibitions and restrictions.
In 2020, there is a new change regarding the school feeding quality, expressed in the adoption of food classification according to the processing degree and in the expansion of prohibitions and frequency limits in the offering of certain foods, according to the segment served. Thus, the infographic (Figure 2) shows the initial, intermediate, and final categories according to change periods and food and nutrition security dimensions.
Figure 2

Figure 3 presents a timeline with the conceptions of food and nutrition quality that predominate in each period under study.
Figure 3

Discussion
The systematization of the main conceptions about quality was discussed based on the relationships with different socio-political and economic contexts and conjunctures, including trends in nutrition knowledge; the transformations in the institutional framework of the program and national macro-policies that favored the different configurations of these central ideas throughout the analyzed period, in addition to the food and nutrition security dimensions themselves.
Historically, the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) adopted different ideas about the school feeding quality, which initially related to feeding that complemented nutritional needs, even if through processed foods. Subsequently, quality was associated with low-cost, regionally produced, based on unprocessed foods, and that stimulated the national and local economy. In subsequent contexts, ideas about quality emphasized the technical dimension of nutrition, associated with nutritional and sanitary recommendations, and maintained aspects of previous conceptions, such as the regional perspective of feeding. In more recent contexts, these conceptions have encompassed the broader perspectives of feeding systems, and quality has become associated with support for local family farming, in addition to other food and nutrition security dimensions. Finally, the notion of processing degree was included as a quality criterion 7,28.
The conception related to food supplementation was driven by Josué de Castro\'s denunciations of malnutrition, when it was urgent to create public policies for food and nutrition 3,23 and ideas about the school feeding quality were strongly associated with the dimension of food access, limited to one stage of education. The federal government carried out the purchase of food, including processed foods, primarily of international origin, meeting the interests of the world industry and the need to distribute production 3,10,11,23,31,32,33.
After the 1988 Federal Constitution, school feeding is affirmed as a right in a context of redefining responsibilities among the entities of the federation, and the concept of quality is established within the framework of stimulating national economic development 34. In this process, the purchase of basic and unprocessed foods was the responsibility of States and Municipalities, and the acquisition of processed products was the responsibility of the Union. The more regionalized purchase aimed to reduce logistics costs and stimulate the development of local commerce and businesses, aiming at the decentralization process. However, adherence was low due to a lack of structure in local governments and pressure from the food industry 33. In 1994, the federative decentralization of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) was consolidated with the institution of the School Direct Funding Program, which began to guarantee federal government funding for investments in school infrastructure and maintenance 19,23,33. The increased incorporation of fresh, unprocessed foods into the school menu demanded guidelines for good practices in the food production process in the PNAE legislation, but no regulations were observed regarding these issues.
The concept of quality oriented towards technical standards was influenced by several factors, notably the definition of the exclusive activities of nutritionists by the Federal Council of Nutritionists 34, determining that school menus should be prepared by a nutritionist 3,35. The establishment of the first National Council for Food and Nutrition Security (CONSEA) (1993-1995) and the National Food and Nutrition Policy (PNAN) of 1999 contributed to setting the agenda for the topic of food and nutrition security and establishing the basis for a concept of adequate feeding based on acceptance and respect for culture, considering some aspects of the food and nutrition security dimensions 13,36,37.
The implementation of the PNAN contributed to the appreciation of nutritional aspects in the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) and its relationship with school performance. Nutritional recommendations have been solidifying in the legal framework, a trend that can be associated with the coordination of the program by nutritionists in 2003 and the mandatory presence of a nutritionist as the technical manager in 2004 3,16,38.
Still within the scope of the concept of quality linked to technical valorization, the hygienic-sanitary standards, identity and food quality, and good food handling practices gain visibility in the PNAE legislation, with the creation of ANVISA 39, promulgation of RDC No. 275 and later RDC No. 216 13,16,25,40. These determinations present in the legislation incorporate the hygienic-sanitary dimensions and create demand for implementation entities (EEx) to adapt the infrastructure of the School Feeding and Nutrition Units (UANE) to meet sanitary standards. Furthermore, there are mentions of the preference for the consumption of basic products, with priority for unprocessed and semi-processed foods, with the definition of a minimum percentage for acquisition, without a conceptual definition, but with the inclusion of a list of basic foods 13,15,16.

In 2008, the PNAE legislation 17 already provided guidelines for the acquisition of family farming products through the Food Acquisition Program (PAA), without making it mandatory. It also established a maximum limit for acquisitions per family farmer per year, indicated priority for organic foods, and prohibited the acquisition of ready-to-eat foods. These elements preceded the publication of Law 11.947 in 2009, which inaugurated a concept of quality related to bringing the production and consumption of family farming food closer together 1.
The perspective of mandatory use and the minimum limit on the use of federal resources for the purchase of family farming food products establishes less bureaucratic purchasing mechanisms and an order of priority for local farmers, specific groups, and organic foods 1. This process brought new perspectives to the quality criteria that guide public procurement, by incorporating the environmental and cultural food and nutrition security dimension. The creation of the National Program for Strengthening Family Farming (PRONAF), which defines the criteria for the family farmer and family enterprise segments, stands out as antecedents 41, legislation No. 10.831/2003 42 and the publication of the Organic Law on Food and Nutrition Security (LOSAN) 29.
The introduction of parameters for adapting menus to nutritional needs by age group and meeting the special needs of students with more specific criteria 20, contributing to the equity dimension in the program, was largely conditioned by the epidemiological profile of the child population with the increase in cases of overweight and obesity, referenced in several international and national health and nutrition documents, as well as the increase in cases of special conditions such as food allergies, autism, chronic diseases and in the guidelines for promoting healthy eating in public and private schools 44, reflected in the PNAE legislation 3,16,17,20,43,45,46. This process converged with the establishment of the nutritionist\'s technical functions according to CFN 47, and has been consolidating through different instruments for managing menu quality, sustainability, and acceptability.
The connection between family farming and the PNAE produced one of the most important changes in the conception of school feeding quality, being considered a milestone in food and nutrition security policies. Brazil pioneered the direct purchase of food from family farming for schools and played an important role as a reference in the design of school feeding programs for countries in these regions. This process has been progressing in the country, but it still faces challenges 48.
The convergence of PNAE to the Food Guidelines recommendations 5,7,28 has led to a new change in the program, as it has reoriented the use of federal public resources and the supply of food in schools, which included a ban on sugar and ultra-processed foods for children under 3 years of age 7,28, which is now considered as a criterion for the nutritional quality of school meals. The discussion about this new perspective on food classification was problematized by Teo and Monteiro 22, who highlighted that the draft bill, which preceded the enactment of the PNAE Law in 2009, already defined in detail what “basic foods” are, unprocessed, semi-processed and processed foods, indicating that the first two types should be prioritized in school meals because they have lower processing degrees, this aspect being suppressed from the Law in its final version 22, being incorporated only in 2020 5.
This new look at food strengthens, beyond the nutritional dimension of food and nutrition security, the food culture and sustainability dimensions, since the greater the food processing degree, the less adequate it is to the habits and culture as well as to the nutritional needs of schoolchildren 49, thus identifying the influence of the II National Food and Nutrition Security Plan (PLANSAN) on the PNAE 5,50.
The adoption of guidelines promoted by the new Food Guidelines for Children up to 2 years old, in a context that favors the use of infant formulas and products based on ultra-processed cereals, redefines the concept of school feeding quality from a perspective more aligned with the concept of adequate, healthy and sustainable feeding, at a crucial stage for the formation of healthy eating habits throughout life 28. In the same direction, a technical note was recently published that addresses guidelines on breastfeeding in the context of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE), reinforcing the importance of the school as a space for promoting breastfeeding and the proper introduction of foods 51. This is a historical agenda of the health sector that is now integrated into the actions of the PNAE, and may promote the reduction of the supply of breast milk substitutes, which still occupy a prominent place in the menus of daycare centers, and induce the expansion of vacancies in nurseries and daycare centers in municipalities 52.
In the last decade, the concept of quality in force in Brazilian public legislation in general (including the PNAE) has been questioned. Criticism focuses on the fact that quality standards increasingly aim to fundamentally guarantee food preservation, considering the long distances between production and consumption and longer shelf life. Consequently, there is a growing association between "food quality," "sanitary quality standards," and "food safety". Furthermore, they are suitable for large producers and industrial production processes and exclude artisanal production 53. To address this issue, the Productive Inclusion with Sanitary Safety Program established a sanitary standard that recognizes the need to protect artisanal production and preserve traditional knowledge from the perspective of the multiculturalism of peoples, traditional communities, and family farmers.
Dialogue with studies on food and nutrition programs (PAE) in other countries indicates that the description of nutritional aspects is recurrent, but cultural aspects, food security, and family farming participation are present in less than 25% of cases 54. In Latin American countries, school feeding programs aim to provide calories, protein, and vitamins to promote better nutrition as central elements of quality 55,56, without advancing the qualitative aspects of dietary guidelines. Brazil\'s advances in sustainable local development, with incentives for the purchase of diverse, local foods, and respect for regional and healthy eating habits, serve as references for school feeding programs in Latin America and the Caribbean 54. In the USA, the updating of dietary guidelines and nutritional standards fundamentally impacted the improvement of the nutritional quality of meals and schoolchildren\'s access to healthy food. In Brazil, the impact of the Food Guidelines on the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) was broader, including not only nutritional quality but also other dimensions of food and nutrition security, such as culture, environmental sustainability, and socioeconomic sustainability 57.
In summary, changes in the scientific field of nutrition and in the interface between academic institutions and government planning, also through public policy councils, have affected the design of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) and other national policies. In parallel, the diversification of the food industry and the strengthening of other segments of producers and suppliers, such as family farming itself, intensifies disputes over the program\'s resources. Conceptions about quality are affected by and affect these processes.
The weaknesses in infrastructure for the local implementation of the program, which were greater in the initial historical contexts, considering the institutional capacities of municipalities and the infrastructure of schools for meal production, favored the purchase of easy-to-prepare processed foods. Therefore, the progressive strengthening of these capacities, including the redesign of the PNAE in the context of food and nutrition security (FNS), was fundamental to operationalizing the concepts of quality based on the local purchase of fresh, unprocessed foods and the priority given to family farming.
The monitoring and control by the federal government regarding the operationalization of the school feeding quality criteria have strengthened throughout the study period and have even come to condition the use of federal resources by the PNAE\'s implementation entities. Thus, the legal mechanisms for inducing effective compliance with the quality criteria established over time have been reinforced, but with unequal operational challenges in different territorial and political contexts.

Conclusion
The analysis of conceptions of the school feeding quality, established in the legal PNAE documents, demonstrated historical transformations in ideas, initially centered on nutritional components and, in the last two decades, encompassing social values surrounding food, such as justice and equity. The conception of quality in the initial phase of the program was based on ideas about the problems of nutritional deficiencies and was associated with the perspective of food supplementation. Subsequently, parameters of a different order began to be associated with the ideas of quality, such as the origin of food, cost, food processing, regionality, economic development, food acceptance, commensality, culture, nutritional recommendations, hygienic and sanitary parameters, food variety, production model, socio-biodiversity, access, strengthening of family farming, and universality. The incorporation of various parameters and values, including those related to equity, was strongly influenced by food and nutrition security policies in Brazil, resulting in a program that articulates actions from different sectors.
As changes in the operational political context of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE), the management decentralization stands out, which initially aimed to reduce logistics costs, but which enabled other determinations within the scope of legal documents, such as the increased purchase of fresh and regional foods, preferably from family farmers and socio-biodiversity, thus expanding several categories of the concept of quality in PNAE. The inclusion of nutritionists and the expansion of their responsibilities in the program also constituted an important advance in the concept of quality, as it impacted some guidelines resulting in universality of care, increased access, meeting nutritional needs, respect for food culture that contributes to local economic development, and hygienic and sanitary quality of meals.
The incorporation of new guidelines based on food guidelines also transformed the program by significantly and positively modifying the menu composition, which may also contribute to a greater purchase of food products from the family farming. In addition to changes in the concept of quality (which expands from the sanitary component to the nutritional component and subsequently incorporates other dimensions), the very concept of nutritional quality has been reconfigured. If in the initial phase of the program, nutritional quality referred to macro and micronutrients, recently the quality criterion has been based on the food processing degree, especially with the publication of the Food Guideline in 2014. Therefore, there is a change in the very concept of nutritional quality throughout the analyzed trajectory.
Determinations such as the establishment of attributions of the PNAE\'s implementation entities, the minimum percentage of use for the purchase of food items from family farming, the menu composition, among others that may reflect on the operationalization of the program, prove to be important mechanisms for inducing improvements in the quality of meals offered in public schools in the country.
Regarding the study limitations, although the analysis explored the relationship between the different political and social contexts and conjunctures of program implementation, it should be noted that such contexts are complex and other factors, in addition to those addressed in this research, may also affect, albeit indirectly, the conceptions of quality identified. Furthermore, it does not mean that such conceptions have been effectively implemented in all program operationalization contexts, also considering that the conceptions of the actors may be different according to the region of the country. The integration of documentary analysis with the results of studies on the PNAE enhanced the discussion and problematized, in an unprecedented way, the concept of quality in the light of the Food and Nutrition Security that guides food and nutrition policies in Brazil.

Figure 1: Search and selection criteria for PNAE documents.
https://www.canva.com/design/DAGUmPmlgNQ/QKPEToR2Q5O1KVG67s2BgA/edit?utm_content=DAGUmPmlgNQ&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Figure 2: Changes in the concepts of school feeding quality in the light of the Food and Nutrition Security in the legislation of the National School Feeding Program.
https://www.canva.com/design/DAGU-j4Nn_M/VG2dM1S7n6vWQNIxNOixyw/edit?utm_content=DAGU-j4Nn_M&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Figure 3: Timeline of conceptions of the school feeding quality.
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