Fraudes alimentares em produtos de origem animal pelo uso de amido

Abstract

Food fraud is characterized by an intentional illegal act for economic gain. Major occurrences include starchy products added to dairy and meat products. In this way, the objective of this study was to identify possible food fraud and evaluate the importance of labeling. Moisture, protein, carbohydrate, lipids, starch content and water activity analyses were performed on three samples of mortadella, sausage, grated cheese, Brazilian cream cheese (requeijão cremoso) and dulce de leche purchased at the local market in Ponta Grossa (Paraná). Although the samples showed significant differences (p<0.05) in relation to the proximate compositions, all samples of mortadella, sausage and dulce de leche had higher starch contents than allowed according to the Technical Regulation on Identity and Quality (RTIQ). According to the legislation, the presence of starch in cheese is prohibited, however, all samples of grated Parmesan cheese analyzed in this work showed a positive result for starch, with concentrations of 0.51, 0.59 and 0.64 g/100g of product. On the other hand, almost all samples showed compliance in relation to the other parameters established by the RTIQ. As many consumers are generally unaware of the nutritional and mandatory information from labels of the products they consume, there is a lack of supervision by competent bodies to comply with legislation.