Evaluation of consumption of milk and its informal derivatives and the knowledge of the population about the public health problems in a municipal district in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Milk is a food of high nutritional value and is considered one of the main animal products consumed today. At the same time, Brazil stands out as one of the leading milk producers in the world and, since 2006 has been showing growing increase in its production. On the other hand, it is observed from the beginning of the 1990s, the growth of so-called informal milk and milk products (foods marketed without any kind of inspection), representing a challenge to be overcome related to food security. There are many diseases that can be transmitted by such foods, as tuberculosis and brucellosis, and there are few consumers who are aware of such information. The fact worsens the thought that milk and dairy products make up the diet of many children, elderly and weakened persons, which may make it more severe. Thus, this study aims to evaluate, through the use of questionnaires in 23 districts of São José do Rio Preto, the profile of 805 consumers or not, of milk and dairy products, the knowledge that they have about the diseases transmitted by milk and dairy products and the significance of the seals from Inspection Services. As a result, it was found that 97.76% (787/805) respondents consume milk or its derivatives, and about 30% are obtained by informal means of commerce. The form of consumption of this product is quite variable, but the work shows that 3.93% (31/787) of the consumers still ingest raw milk without boiling or pasteurization and 65.96% (531/805) of consumers are unaware of the possible transmission of disease by the ingestion of milk. Furthermore 80.24% (646/805) of consumers do not seek the packaging if the product has gone through some kind of supervision before reaching the trade - identification through stamps organs of sanitary inspection. Obtaining such data aims to collaborate in future for the development of prevent programs in the city, and the information gathered will be available to assist inspections services to reduce the marketing of informal milk and dairy products and also in educational campaigns for consumers.