Qualidade do leite produzido em sistemas orgânico e convencional

Abstract

The concern about food safety, animal welfare, and environmental impacts caused by intensive production systems has led to an increasing interest in foods derived from a sustainable production system. In this context, organic milk production in Brazil has grown considerably in recent years, but little is known about the quality of the food produced in the country. In order to evaluate the quality of organic milk, the hygienic quality, chemical composition, and safety concerning pesticide residues was assessed. Five brands of certified organic pasteurized milk and five brands of conventional pasteurized milk commercialized in three Brazilian states were collected between May 2011 and March 2012, every two months, totaling 29 samples of organic milk (OM) and 27 conventional milk (CM). The collection of raw milk samples was made every two months, from July 2011 to May 2012 in 20 organic farms and 20 conventional farms in western Santa Catarina, totaling 120 OM and 115CM samples. In pasteurized milk, physicochemical analyzes were performed and the fatty acid profile was determined. In raw milk, chemical composition analyzes, somatic cell count (SCC), and total bacterial count (TBC) were carried out. Both types of milk were subjected to the determination of pesticides and veterinary drugs. When the results of raw milk production in the two systems were compared, no difference for the mean value of fat, protein and total solids, or SCC was found. Organic milk showed better quality in relation to microbial contamination and higher content of lactose. For pasteurized milk with the exception of non fat solids, all average values of physical and chemical parameters of milk met the limits of the Brazilian legislation. The fatty acid profile was affected by geographical origin, and to a lesser extent, the effect of season, probably due to differences on the feeding regime. The milk obtained in Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo were characterized by having higher values of health-promoting fatty acids, including conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). However, the milk collected in the Federal District was characterized by higher concentrations of saturated fatty acids (SFA). The results for raw and pasteurized milk indicate that the organic management alone had no effect on milk quality regarding chemical composition, which are determined by several factors that are independent of the production system. No veterinary drugs was found in any of the samples analyzed. However, for contamination with pesticides no difference was observed when considering the number of contaminated samples in either production system. Results indicate the need to monitor milk for the presence of pesticides in order to improve food safety, especially for organic milk, which should be free of such contaminants.