Condições de comercialização de queijos em feiras livres da cidade de Barreiras - BA

Abstract

Concern about the hygienic and sanitary conditions of foodstuffs has increased a lot recently, especially the cheeses sold at the markets in the municipality of Barreiras-BA. The aim of this study was to analyze the hygiene and sanitary conditions of the establishments that sell cheese at the city's open-air markets. It was carried out by means of joint visits with the health surveillance team to the free markets called F1, F2 and F3, where a checklist was made of the conditions of the premises, storage, cleanliness and hygiene of the handlers. A questionnaire was administered to the market traders and consumers, and finally an analysis was made of the way in which the packaging and labels of the products were made. We can see that all the stalls are unsuitable for selling food such as cheese, with F2 and F3 having no structure whatsoever for selling it. In the consumer profile survey, 94.4% said that they consume cheese as part of their meals, but 55.6% of the people interviewed buy their cheese from supermarkets, 27.8% from CAB and 16.7% from the Vila Rica market. Regarding the packaging and labeling of the cheeses, most are sold without any kind of label, and are packed in transparent plastic containers just to avoid dirt. With regard to the market traders, none of them have had any training in good manufacturing practices, 56% say they are unaware of the inspection labels and of the cheeses sold, only 20% are produced at home, 80% are bought from third parties who are brought into town from other cities. Finally, we can see that the open-air markets do not have adequate conditions for marketing cheeses in the city. The lack of knowledge about good manufacturing practices and the legislation in force for the production and sale of this product is worrying. However, there is still a lack of more efficient inspection by public bodies and training programs for market traders on the correct way to handle food.