UHT milks labeling in retail trade market

Abstract

The objective of this study was to verify whether the labels of UHT milk carton marketed in supermarkets of Curitiba-PR were in accordance with the standards established by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA). The samples collected were from industries that followed the federal inspection regime and the brands were marketed in the main supermarket chains. We evaluated 18 labels of UHT milk regarding the labeling standards present in the legislation declared by MAPA. It was performed visits to the supermarkets and the application of a check list containing 27 items (classified as “in accordance with”, “not in accordance with” and “not applicable”) in each package. Among the brands evaluated, 15 (83%) revealed some nonconformity that includes the highlight to the presence or absence of components intrinsic to the product and/or the highlight to the presence of components added to all products of similar manufacture. This fact can lead to mistakes in the purchase and generate false expectations to the consumers.