Common questions

What is an IDDSI diet?

An IDDSI diet is a texture-modified diet described with the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative framework, a numbered scale from 0 to 7. Drinks use Levels 0 to 4, from Thin to Extremely Thick, and foods use Levels 3 to 7, from Liquidised to Regular. It is not one fixed menu. A speech-language pathologist or clinical team prescribes a level for food and, often separately, a level for drinks.

IDDSI was created to give everyone the same words for texture. Before it, terms like “nectar thick” and “honey thick” meant different things in different hospitals and countries. The framework replaces them with numbered levels, names, colors, and simple tests anyone can do in a kitchen.

Discharge paperwork often gives two numbers, such as Level 6 food and Level 2 drinks. They are separate prescriptions, and both need to be followed.

Each level is checked with a test rather than by eye: the 10 mL syringe flow test for drinks, and the fork drip, spoon tilt, and fork pressure tests for foods.

This site never assigns a level. See the chart of all eight levels for what each one means, then use the level your speech-language pathologist gave you.