Alimentary habits of raw milk consumer from Campo Mourão - PR

Abstract

In Brazil, raw milk is largely consumed, especially within rural communities. A large parcel of total Brazilian milk production is commercialized without any thermal treatment or processing, contradicting the Federal Legislation and offering risks to consumers health. This paper looks for tracing the profile of raw milk consumers from urban zone of Campo Mourão city, western Paraná State, Brazil, and objectives to give information for official organs act in control of raw milk commercialization and development of awareness programs for population. A research was effectuated in 423 houses from urban zone based in a questionnaire with questions about milk consumption, raw milk consumption and its origin. The data was compiled and analyzed by Epi Info v 1.1 software (CDC). 33.57% of population consumed raw milk, and this was linked to the idea that it is healthier. A great part of population did not know the risks of raw milk consumption. The delivery is effectuated at the consumer house (89.60%), usually between 9:00 and 10:00 AM (52.00%) was plastic bottles (54.00%). The majority of population did not know that the raw milk commercialization is forbidden. The results show the necessity of effective measures to control raw milk commercialization and stress the need of population awareness programs concerning the raw milk consumption risks.