Physico-Chemical Analysis of artisanal and industrialized Minas Frescal cheese commercialized in Londrina-PR

Resumo

The artisan cheese production is an important income source for family farmers, however the lack of standardization and negligence in the preparation of the product generates a low quality cheese. The production of cheese of good quality finds some obstacles, because milk does not contribute in many ways to ensure the characteristics of the product. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physico-chemical characteristics of 20 Minas Frescal cheeses, of which 10 samples were artisanal and 10 have industrial production. The handmade cheeses were sold in street markets and all the samples had no labeling and sanitary inspection seal. The industrialized were obtained in supermarkets, all the 20 samples were acquired in Londrina-PR. The analyses performed were  moisture, fat (d.b.), pH and acidity. The fat analysis showed that 50% of samples from artisanal cheeses and 40% of industrialized ones violate the current laws. The pH of artisanal cheese samples ranged between 5.2 and 6.7 and the acidity ranged between 0.06 and 2.41%. The variation in acidity showed that the cheeses are made without standard and quality control of raw material. In industrialized cheeses the pH ranged between 5.3 and 6.5 and acidity between 0.2 and 1.4%. With this work we concluded that the small producers and industries do not pay attention to physico-chemical parameters essential to the quality of the cheese.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14685/rebrapa.v2i2.48