January 2026 IDDSI e-bite

IDDSI as a global initiative is proud to start 2026 with an inspiring story of a wonderful collaboration in KwaZulu, South Africa……

Seeds of Change: How THRIVE Grew in the Heart of KwaZulu-Natal 

In the rolling hills of Zululand, where traditional homesteads dot the landscape and community ties run deep, a quiet health crisis was unfolding. A simple meal had become a source of fear and danger when each swallow carried the risk of choking or aspiration. Across KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), people living with dysphagia faced daily struggles of food sovereignty and security that most could never imagine. This was why ‘Tackling Hunger with Research and Innovation in Vulnerable Environments’ – commonly known as THRIVE began in 2014. Speech Pathology clinical educators and students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal built on their community based rehabilitation (CBR) platform – a practice model that they began in the 1990s. 

Community health workers encountered the issue regularly but lacked the training and resources to address it effectively. It was against this backdrop that THRIVE began to take root. Rather than viewing dysphagia as merely a health problem requiring clinical solutions, the team recognised it as a community challenge that demanded community-centred responses.

The dysphagia garden co-labs emerged as THRIVE’s foundational innovation. They were collaborative spaces where IDDSI translated into local practice. THRIVE’s team, led by Speech Pathology staff at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Consumer Scientists at the University of Zululand understood that diet modification was where the rubber met the road. People needed food that was not only safe to swallow but also nutritious, affordable, culturally appropriate, and—crucially—dignified. No one wants to feel like they're eating baby food or losing connection to their culinary heritage. So, community members became co-creators of solutions rather than passive recipients of services. The pilot site in Esikhawini became a living laboratory. By growing produce specifically suited to dysphagia-friendly preparation, communities could have agency over their food supply. Sweet potatoes that could be mashed to perfect smoothness, leafy greens that could be cooked tender, fruits that could be pureed. —the garden became ‘pharmacy farms’ where foods, recognised by the indigenous Zulu people for their traditional healing value were also incorporated: But gardens alone couldn't address the full complexity of dysphagia care.

The team dove deep into adapting IDDSI standards for the KwaZulu-Natal context. How could traditional dishes be modified to meet safety standards while preserving flavour, nutrition, and cultural significance? The answer lay in collaboration with those who knew the food best: community health workers, traditional cooks, caregivers, and the people with dysphagia themselves. Together, they began selecting and developing community recipes that honoured local ingredients and cooking methods while meeting IDDSI requirements. A nutrient-dense, pre-cooked, and fortified instant porridge used in South Africa to combat malnutrition (called ‘ePap’ by econofoods) and is based on traditional maize porridge widely eaten in SA. ePap became a foundation for lab and community experimentation. Could it be prepared to the right consistency for IDDSI Level 3? We tried this by first making gels with a liquid centre using spherification (see Furber, et al. 2017), later developed using low-cost aeration methods (see de Villiers, et al, 2019). Experimenting with transitional foods and ‘crunch’, we developed the science of food textural acoustics (Karani & Pillay, 2021) and produced fortified biscuits. Our imaginations took us to incorporating madumbe, the nutritious taro-like tuber, into biscuits that could provide both sustenance and pleasure.

The quest for economical food thickeners became another crucial focus. Commercial thickeners were expensive and often inaccessible in rural areas. But what about ingredients like agar agar derived from seaweed, or starches from rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and madumbe?

IDDSI measurement methods were shared and practiced repeatedly. Via train-the-trainer packages we spread IDDSI knowledge throughout the community, empowering community health workers to become local experts in dysphagia nutrition. Delivered as day-long training sessions, home based family educational sessions and as print/digital education packages (in local languages) for peers like community health workers and primary health care nurses.  

THRIVE recognised that successful diet modification required more than just recipes and measurement tools. It required understanding the whole ecosystem of food—from seed to swallow. This was why the team also understood that risk couldn't be eliminated entirely, only managed. Choking remained a real danger, so protocols for identification and management had to be developed and shared. Community health workers needed training not just in prevention but in emergency response. In New Zealand Aotearoa, THRIVE is being developed to address dysphagia and food insecurity among Māori, migrants, and other vulnerable groups, proving that innovative, culturally sensitive solutions can be implemented in high-income countries too.

The story of how IDDSI can be useful to highly vulnerable populations is still being written in the rich soil of Zululand, in the kitchens where recipes are tested and refined, in the hands of community health workers learning new skills, and in the safer, more dignified mealtimes of people who once feared every swallow. It's a story of how healthcare and agriculture, international standards and local wisdom, clinical expertise and community knowledge can grow together, creating something more nourishing than any could achieve alone.

2025 saw the launch of the IDDSI Academy with three pilot programs held around the world: February in Italy, September in the UK and October in Australia. 



The IDDSI Academy was designed to provide dedicated education about the IDDSI Framework and the IDDSI Testing methods. The education program consisted of an online theory and in-person practical program. The on-line program provided a two-hour series of self-paced modules requiring 100% accuracy on quizzes to progress through all modules. The practical hands-on day allowed participants to work through hands-on IDDSI testing methods, audit sheets, case studies and complex problem-solving activities in an interactive multi-disciplinary environment. A total of two hundred people participated over the three Pilot programs with groups consisting of health professionals (dietitians, speech language therapists, nurses), cooks, chefs, kitchen assistants, industry professionals, food technologists, researchers, academics, managers, and safety officers. Participants received a certificate of completion from IDDSI Global. 

The Pilot programs allowed the IDDSI Academy Faculty an opportunity to seek feedback and adjust the online and in-person programs to maximise learning. For example, following the Florence Pilot, format and logistics changes were made for the UK and Australian Pilots. Participants from all pilot sites were overwhelmingly positive about both the on-line and in-person training and provided extremely valuable feedback on the areas that worked well and the areas to tweak. Facilitators reported that while the practical training days were excellent, logistically, these were a massive undertaking of resources and time.

The IDDSI Board of Directors is reviewing all feedback from participants and facilitators over the three Pilots. The online learning and in-person training are being reviewed as two separate Academy learning activities. The IDDSI Board has prioritised wide scale roll out of the on-line learning Academy courses for early-mid 2026. Wider scale roll out into the corporate environment is also likely to be trialed in 2026. While very popular, the IDDSI practical day will be carefully reviewed by the Faculty and Board to evaluate logistics. No further practical training days are currently planned. 

The IDDSI Academy faculty and the IDDSI Board would like to sincerely thank everyone who participated in the IDDSI Academy Pilots – participants and facilitators! Our learnings went both ways – thank you!

Keep up-to-date with all the IDDSI Academy news by reading the IDDSI e-bite.

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Global Updates

Canada: The Canada reference group is reviewing their successes from 2025 and be sure to check out the exciting upcoming events for 2026! Read all about it in the January Can-Do newsletter on the CIRG webpage

Saudi Arabia: The Saudi Arabia reference group has confirmed the support of the Alfaisal University. Established in 2002 in Riyadh by the King Faisal Foundation, Alfaisal university is a premier private non-profit institution dedicated to excellence in education, research, and innovation. Ranked among the top universities in the region, it offers distinguished programs in medicine, engineering, business, pharmacy, and science, advancing leadership and knowledge in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030. 

Go to their IDDSI webpage for all the details: Saudi Arabia - IDDSI

Congratulations to the SAIRG - thank you for all your work on Project ReachOUT!

If you are interested in joining an IDDSI Reference Group, please email the contact for the group. We welcome everyone who wants to help with guiding & fostering IDDSI implementation. Being part of a reference group is a great opportunity to meet IDDSI friends in your local, regional area. And you never know, something amazing may happen when great brains come together!

Don't see an IDDSI Reference Group for your practise or regional area? Interested in starting an IDDSI reference group to help support IDDSI implementation in your regional or practice area? Fill out the form here.

Webinars and IDDSI Learning

Meet our Feature Speakers for the February and March sessions! For their full bios and other speaker information go to the USIV Event

February 25, 2026:

• Carly Edwards MS, RD, LDN Carly is a registered dietitian with over 10 years of experience in acute care, long term care, food service management, sales and group purchasing. She graduated in 2014 with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Pittsburgh. 
• Rob Melchionna, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S Rob is an SLP/Clinical Specialist at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, MA, where he works primarily with adults with swallowing disorders in an inpatient setting, and serves as a clinical resource for other SLPs in the hospital system.  Rob has been a Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (BCS-S) since 2017.
• Carolyn “Carrie” Wade, MS, CCC-SLP, Moderator Carrie is a Clinical Assistant Professor, Medical Externship Coordinator, and Speech-Language Clinic Director at Indiana University-Bloomington. She specializes in adult dysphagia management with a focus on neurodegenerative populations and also teaches her university’s dysphagia course.

March 4, 2026:

• Michael Salvatore, III CEC Michael has over thirty-five years of culinary, management, and ownership experience and has been in the hospitality business since 1977. He is a Certified Executive Chef specializing in food service solutions that deliver profitable sales, a positive team atmosphere, and ensure guest delight. Mr. Salvatore holds a Culinary Degree from the Academy of Culinary Arts, is Treasurer for the North NJ Chapter of the American Culinary Federation, is an Officier in the Garden State Bailliage of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, and is a 2016 James Beard Award winner.
• Carolyn “Carrie” Wade, MS, CCC-SLP, Moderator, Carrie is a Clinical Assistant Professor, Medical Externship Coordinator, and Speech-Language Clinic Director at Indiana University-Bloomington. She specializes in adult dysphagia management with a focus on neurodegenerative populations and also teaches her university’s dysphagia course.
• Rene Kanadet, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, Moderator, Rene has been practicing as a speech pathologist since 2010 and has been board certified in swallowing disorders since 2019. She received her BS from the University of Illinois and her MS from Rush University. Rene has spent much of her career in acute rehab with a focus on neurogenic communication and swallowing disorders. Rene is a co-chair for the USIRG Education & Training committee.

For more information on Agendas, Program Details and Session Summaries, go to the US IDDSI Virtual Event page here: USIV Event

Please direct any questions or concerns pertaining to this event to usevents@iddsi.net.

To register and for more information scan the QR code above or go to: this link

If you have any suggestions for webinar topics, we’d love to hear them! Head over to our Contact Us form, choose subject “Webinars”, and let us know what you’d like to see in the upcoming months. 

IDDSI Events

UK IDDSI Festival 2026 "Quality at Every Level"

Tuesday, September 15th, 2026

9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Venue: Reach Conference Centre, Riverside Court, Pride Park,

Derby DE24 8HY

The only festival organised by the IDDSI UK Reference Group is back for

 ONE DAY ONLY, so don't wait to get your Early Bird tickets!

£65+VAT early bird rate before 1st May, 2026 and £80+VAT thereafter **Registration includes lunch

For more details go to the UKIF Event and for further inquiries please contact ukevents@iddsi.net

To pre-register for this event scan the QR code above or click here: FORM

Use this form to express your interest in attending. You will be notified when registration opens.

Or you can also see more information and can pre-register on the IDDSI Asia Event Webpage

Sponsors

We are excited to announce our 3 new Gold Sponsors:

H.A.R.G., The Pure Food Co, and Robot-Coupe

H.A.R.G. is an Italian Benefit Corporation specialized in innovative, clinically validated nutritional solutions for disease-related malnutrition, including dysphagia. Through in-house R&D, high-quality ingredients, and continuous innovation, H.A.R.G. develops solutions supported by trials and collaborations with universities, research institutes, and Key Opinion Leaders to improve patients’ and caregivers’ quality of life.

The Pure Food Co delivers innovative, texture-modified nutrition designed to improve safety, dignity and enjoyment at mealtimes. We combine real ingredients, chef-crafted flavours and clinically-informed nutrition to support better outcomes. We’re raising the standard of mealtimes with care, quality and innovation — for those who need it most.

Robot-Coupe, global leader in professional food preparation equipment, empowers healthcare and foodservice with Blixer® — the benchmark product for texture-modified diets. Our innovative machines transform raw or cooked ingredients into safe, nutritious, and appetizing meals for all, supporting IDDSI standards and enhancing quality of life for those with swallowing or dietary challenges.

Upcoming Events:

•  Join us for the UK Swallow Research Group (UKSRG) Conference 2026 — two inspiring days all about swallowing and dysphagia! Hear from leading international experts and discover cutting-edge research shaping the future of dysphagia care. February 4 - 5, 2026, Edgbaston Park Hotel, Birmingham. To register, scan the QR code below or click on the link here: Oxford Abstracts Delegate Registration

• DRS (Dysphagia Research Society) Annual Conference, March 4 - 7, 2026, Aurora Colorado 2026 Annual Conference - Dysphagia Research Society
• IV Latin American Dysphagia Congress (CLAD IV) organized by SLAD (Latin American Dysphagia Society) Conference, Wed, May 20 to Sat, May 23, 2026, Cancún, Mexico IV Latin American Congress of Dysphagia (EN)