Use of milk mixtures and beverages in the food industry: case study on consumer knowledge with new and old products available on the market

Abstract

Brazil is a major consumer of milk, so there is a great consumption of its derivatives such as condensed milk, sour cream, milk powder, chocolate and other. The use of whey has been growing in the production of dairy products with the main objective of reducing production costs, so the creation of terms such as dairy drink, dairy compound and dairy mixture. Considering that the value of the product is often the main factor in decision making at the time of purchase, the lower cost of products with drink denomination or milk mixture has attracted many consumers. This research then brings a review on the subject, as well as the application of form to assess whether the population in general can read and interpret the labels of these products and to ascertain, therefore, their previous knowledge on the subject. It was possible to notice that the interviewees in general have a good knowledge about mixtures and dairy beverages, however, 100% of the correct answers were not obtained in any of the items presented in the questionnaire. Another point analyzed was the negative influence that whey-based products may have, as they had answers stating that the product presented was a mixture or milk drink and were actually of original prescription. Thus, aiming at an improvement in understanding and wanting to mitigate errors, it can be concluded that there are still people, even though the majority are not, who confuse the willing products and do not know how to differentiate the original recipe from the generic, it was suggested then that it is necessary a greater awareness or even a possible change in legislation in order to reduce the gaps in food labeling,  making the difference between the products as clear as possible.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/tfisdwv1-058