Replacing Item with Specific Substitute

What is a Specific Substitute?
Replacing Item with Specific Substitute
- Ensure Specific Substitute Item is Assigned to a Production Area
Using Filters to Help your Search
- Filtering by Food and Non-Food Items
- Filtering by Vendor Products
Removing a Specific Substitute from a Personal Menu
FAQs

What is a Specific Substitute?

A specific substitute is an item on the personal menu that replaces an original item. A specific substitute is commonly used if an item is marked as do not serve (DNS) due to an allergen or the item being manually marked as DNS on the personal menu. For example, the specific substitute of lactose-free milk replaces regular milk because of a lactose allergen.

When you replace an item with a specific substitute, the specific substitute replaces the original item in all meal services and days the original item exists.

To replace an item with a specific substitute, complete the following steps:

Open the resident/patient's personal menu.
To show do-not-serve (DNS) items on the personal menu, ensure the Display Excluded Items option is selected from the display options (first screenshot below). Items that are DNS are shown on the menu as crossed out (second screenshot below).
Hover over the DNS item and click its Edit icon (). The Edit Menu item modal appears (second screenshot below).
Click Add a Specific Substitute option. The Add Specific Substitute window appears.
Click the Search Filter control on the right side to open the available filters (screenshot below). Use the filters as needed (described in separate section below) to aid in your search. Note that if searching for a therapeutic substitute recipe, select the Therapeutic Recipes check box (more information about this settings is described in the separate section below).
In the Search field, enter the description or ID of the item or product you are searching for and click the magnifying glass or press Enter on your keyboard. The search results are returned (maximum 100). Note that if you do not find the search results suitable, then click here for search tips below.
By clicking the eye icon () of an item, the Item Preview window appears with the following tabs:
- Details - displays the recipe details.
- Nutrient Value - displays the nutrient values.
For an item you want to add, click its + icon. The item appears on the right.
Adjust the default serving size if needed.
In the Item Note field, you have option of adding a note (e.g., “serve on ice”), which will be printed on the service report for production staff.
Click Add to close the window and add the substitute. The specific substitute replaces the original item in all meal services and days the original item exists. A specific substitute is identified with the green Specific Sub label.

Note: If the resident/patient is assigned a diet type that is set up with restrictions, a message appears stating such and gives you the ability cancel the item, or ignore the restriction and apply the item.

An item that is intentionally added despite a diet restriction is identified with a warning icon (). Hovering your cursor over the icon displays the restriction that is applied and informs you to change the item if you do not want it to be served.

Ensure Specific Substitute Item is Assigned to a Production Area

For a specific substitute item to appear on production reports (i.e., Kitchen Production Sheet), it must be assigned to a production area. Ensure that the item is assigned to a production area and that the production area is selected in the base settings of the production reports.

Using Filters to Help your Search

When searching for an item to add to a personal menu, you can utilize filters to better improve the results. From the Add window, click the Search Filter control to expose the Filters section (screenshot below). The filters are described below.

Filtering by Food and Non-Food Items

With the Food & Non-Food Items option selected, the following filters are available:

Food Type - filter by recipes, prepared foods, and non-food items.
Categories - filter by recipe categories (if searching for recipes) and food categories (if searching for prepared foods). Note that if searching for both recipes and prepared foods, recipe categories are listed first in the drop-down, followed by food categories (screenshot below).
Portion Cost Range - enter the cost range of the item (recipe cost, prepared food cost, non-food item cost) you are searching for. Note that this filter applies to items within your selections in the Categories field, or at least three characters entered in the Search field.
Tags - filter by tags applied to recipes and prepared foods.
Owner - this field lists your account and all parent accounts. Select one or more accounts whose recipes you want to select from.
My Recipes Only - filter by "My Recipes" recipes (i.e., recipes owned by your account). Note that selecting the My Recipes Only checkbox also automatically selects your account, and only your account, in the Owner field.
Therapeutic Recipes - therapeutic substitute recipes (e.g., Gluten Free, LoCal, Low Salt, etc.) and/or IDDSI-compliant (e.g., SB6, MM5, etc.) identified as such in the system (via the recipe's Recipe Box label) will be returned in your search results. Without the Therapeutic Recipes check box selected, such substitute recipes will not be returned in the search results. The reason for this is that therapeutic substitute recipes are typically added to a regular item's therapeutic extension grid, and as such are not typically added directly to a personal menu.
Recipe Box (available only if Recipe is selected from Food Type) - returns recipes assigned to a recipe box label. More than one recipe box label can be selected. A recipe box label identifies the recipe (e.g., Entrees Poultry, Entrees Vegetarian, etc.), including a recipe that is a therapeutic substitute for a regular recipe (e.g., Gluten Free, LoCal, Low Salt, etc.) and/or IDDSI-compliant (e.g., SB6, MM5, etc.).

Note that if selecting a recipe box label for a therapeutic substitute recipe and/or IDDSI-compliant recipe, then the Therapeutic Recipes check box also needs to be selected. The reason for this is that therapeutic substitute recipes are typically added to a regular item's therapeutic extension grid, and as such are not typically added directly to a personal menu.

Filtering by Vendor Products

With the Vendor Products option selected, you can search for a prepared food associated with a vendor product. From the vendor products that are returned from the search results, you then select one, which in turns adds the prepared food item the vendor product is linked with (i.e., vendor product is verified for the prepared food item). In other words, the prepared food item the vendor product is linked with is added, and not the vendor product itself.

Note: If a vendor product is in red text in the search results, this indicates that the vendor product is either a special order vendor product or out-of-stock.

If a vendor product is not returned in the search results:

Check your your vendor product list to confirm if the vendor product is available. See Searching for a Specific Vendor Product. If you confirm that the vendor product is not on your list, see What If a Vendor Product is not on a Vendor Product List? If you confirm the vendor product is on your list, then contact MealSuite Support.
It could be that the vendor product does exist in your account, but is not linked with a food item, and as such that vendor product will not be returned in the search results. For more information and instructions on getting a vendor product linked with a food item in the system, see Facility Account: Suggesting a Food Item be Linked to a Vendor Product or Corporate Account: Suggesting a Food Item be Linked to a Vendor Product.

Removing a Specific Substitute from a Personal Menu

Open the resident/patient's personal menu.
For the specific substitute to be removed, hover over it and click its Edit icon (). The Edit Specific Substitute window appears (second screenshot below).
Click the Delete button. A confirmation message appears. Click Delete to the confirmation message. The specific substitute is deleted.

Note: Another means to remove a specific substitute is via the Manage Customizations window (screenshot below) by clicking the remove icon () for the specific substitute to be removed.

FAQs

I am searching for an item, but can't find it (i.e., the search is not returning results)?

When searching for an item (personal menu item, fallback substitute, specific substitute), use the following search tips:

Ensure the filter settings are not precluding the system from displaying the recipe in your search results. For example, ensure that the Food & Non Food Items option is selected.
To return therapeutic substitute recipes (e.g., Gluten Free, LoCal, Low Salt, etc.) and/or IDDSI-compliant recipes (e.g., SB6, MM5, etc.) in the search results, select the Therapeutic Recipes check box in the Filters section. Without the Therapeutic Recipes check box selected, such substitute recipes will not be returned in the search results. The reason for this is that therapeutic substitute recipes are typically added to a regular item's therapeutic extension grid, and as such are not typically added directly to a personal menu.
For therapeutic recipes, utilize the abbreviations of how they are named in the system. For example, if searching pureed bread, enter p.bread without a space.
Use a keyword from the recipe name. For example, for chicken a la king, enter "king".
If wanting to know the recipe by its exact name so that you can search for it, locate the recipe on the Recipes Listing screen.
Utilize the Food Type filter: filter by recipes, prepared foods, and non-food items. Note that an ingredient cannot be added directly on a personal menu.
Utilize the Categories filter: filter by recipe categories (if searching for recipes) and food categories (if searching for prepared foods). Note that if searching for both recipes and prepared foods, recipe categories are listed first in the drop-down, followed by food categories (screenshot below).

If I add a specific substitute item to a resident/patient profile who is on a therapeutic diet order, will the substitute recipe that is extended for that specific substitute item on its menu item extension grid be served instead?

No. When adding a specific substitute item to a resident/patient profile who is on a therapeutic diet order, the regular item will be served and not the substitute item that is extended for that specific substitute item on its menu item extension grid.

If wanting to assign a specific substitute item that conforms to the resident/patient's therapeutic diet then you will need to search for and add that specific therapeutic item. To do so, ensure the following filter is utilized in your search:

Therapeutic Recipes - therapeutic substitute recipes (e.g., Gluten Free, LoCal, Low Salt, etc.) and/or IDDSI-compliant (e.g., SB6, MM5, etc.) identified as such in the system (via the recipe's Recipe Box label) will be returned in your search results. Without the Therapeutic Recipes check box selected, such substitute recipes will not be returned in the search results. The reason for this is that therapeutic substitute recipes are typically added to a regular item's therapeutic extension grid, and as such are not typically added directly to a personal menu.

If I add a fluid specific substitute item to a resident/patient profile who is on a fluid type, will the thickened fluid substitute that is extended for that fluid specific substitute item on its fluid substitution grid be served instead?

Yes. When adding a fluid specific substitute item to a resident/patient profile who is on a fluid type, the thickened fluid substitute item that is extended for that specific substitute item on its fluid substitution grid will be served instead.

When the standard menu changes over, does the specific substitute remain on a personal menu?

If the original item that the specific item is replacing is still on the menu, then yes.

If the original item that the specific item is replacing is no longer on the menu, then no.

Is there a report that captures the specific substitutes assigned across resident/patients?

Yes. The Meal Service (People) report lists service details, including specific substitutes, assigned across a group of selected residents/patients.