Background: The WHO and FAO in the “Sustainable Healthy Diet guiding principles” (SHD) underline synergies among foods, nutrients present in dietary patterns and their bioavailability, degree of food processing, and subsequent health impact, even on non communicable disease, reported in target 3.4.1 of SDGs. In Italy almost one in 10 people eat a meal in collective catering (CC) every day. In accordance with SHD, the Italian Ministry of Health (MH) in the national guidelines for CC indicate activating procedures for the conservation of nutritional qualities (NQ) of micronutrients and bioactive substances. The central purchasing bodies of the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia have applied these criteria, introducing the process of critical control points of nutrient analysis (NACCP) in the Public Procurement for the school catering of 26 municipalities and for all 18 regional hospital CC with more than 3 million meals per year served. The aim of the project was to develop rapid and cheap methodsfor monitoring the NQ of meals by applying the NACCP process. Methods: 80 samples of vegetables, meat and fish with different degrees of processing were taken from the CC and analysed both with chemical techniques and with optical rapid techniques (600 analyses). Results: The samples were subjected to conventional analyses to determine the oxidation state and the content of characterizing molecules such as polyphenols, histamine, and total compounds of Maillard. The same samples were then analyzed by color measurements. The results showed a good correlation between the two analytical systems, in particular the color measurements and the Maillard compounds and the color measurements and the oxidation state. Conclusions: Project findings can be applied in the NACCP process to rapidly cost-effectively monitor the nutritional quality of CC meals, and adhere to WHO and FAO the SHD guiding principles and MH guidelines for CC.