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A Multi-objective Approach for the Menu Planning Problem: A Brazilian Case Study

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Optimization, Learning Algorithms and Applications (OL2A 2022)

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a multi-objective formulation for solving the menu planning problem, in a Brazilian school context. Considering the school category, the student age group, and the school duration time, we propose a formulation of the problem in which the total cost and the nutritional error according to the Brazilian reference are simultaneously minimized. The menus must also meet some qualitative requirements, such as variety and harmony of preparations. We propose a NSGA-II for solving the problem. As a comparison, we use a weighted-sum approach for transforming the multi-objective problem into a mono-objective one and solve it using a generic Genetic Algorithm. Using as test scenario full-time preschool students (4-5 years old), 5-day menus are obtained by both methodologies. The menus are qualitatively and quantitatively assessed applying the Quality Index of Nutritional Food Safety Coordination (IQ COSAN, acronym in Portuguese) and compared to a 5-day menu for a Brazilian school. Results show the methodology is very promising and the obtained menus are adequate.

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Acknowledgment

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 754382. This research has also been partially supported by Comunidad de Madrid, PROMINT-CM project (grant ref: P2018/EMT-4366) and by the project PID2020-115454GB-C21 of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN). The authors thank UAH, UFRJ and CEFET-MG for the infrastructure used to conduct this work, and Brazilian research agencies for partially support: CAPES (Finance Code 001), FAPERJ, and CNPq. “The content of this publication does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed herein lies entirely with the author(s).”

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Correspondence to Rafaela P. C. Moreira , Carolina G. Marcelino , Flávio V. C. Martins , Elizabeth F. Wanner or Sancho Salcedo-Sanz .

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Moreira, R.P.C., Marcelino, C.G., Martins, F.V.C., Wanner, E.F., Jimenez-Fernandez, S., Salcedo-Sanz, S. (2022). A Multi-objective Approach for the Menu Planning Problem: A Brazilian Case Study. In: Pereira, A.I., Košir, A., Fernandes, F.P., Pacheco, M.F., Teixeira, J.P., Lopes, R.P. (eds) Optimization, Learning Algorithms and Applications. OL2A 2022. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1754. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23236-7_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23236-7_20

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