O comércio de queijo de coalho na orla marítima de Salvador-Ba: o trabalho infantil, a rede de fornecedores e a segurança de alimentos

Abstract

The curdle cheese is one of the typical products of the Northeast, with great consumption in Salvador, Bahia, mainly on the beaches, where the trade includes child labor and health risks. This study aimed to characterize the trade of curdle cheese from the perspective of child labor, supply chain and food safety. This is a cross-sectional study, exploratory and descriptive, conducted in two stages. At first, there was interviewed 40 vendors under 18 years old in the beaches of the city, while the second were interviewed 11 suppliers with outlets located in central supply and free markets. Proceeded to collect of the 40 raw samples and 40 roasted samples, from the beaches, and 14 samples from suppliers. All samples were submitted to microbiological analysis, including: count of mesophilic aerobes and facultative anaerobes (MAM) and coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS), estimates of the most probable number (MPN) of coliform and thermotolerant (CTT) / Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp (SAL). In the context of child labor, it was found that most vendors were boys (75%), students (95%), averaging 14 years old being the main reasons for the activity were to supplement the family income and occupation. The minors were working mainly on weekends, with average daily journey of 7 hours and obtained gains among the middle and a minimum wage – the permanence in the activity was 21.6 months. The cheese came from informal providers and had storage at room temperature, registering carelessness and inadequate notions of the vendors on the hygiene of foodstuffs. Raw samples showed significant contamination by MAM, ECP and CTT, averaging 8.14 and 1.95 log CFU/g and 4.3 log MPN/g; roasted samples in the same order, reported: 6.47 and 1.00 log CFU/g and 2.09 log MPN/g. E. coli and SAL were also identified - 95% of the raw samples and 50% of roasted were classified as nonconforming. For network providers, there was also a predominance of men (64%), with median schooling, who worked for years on the market. The trade moved approximately half the minimum wage/day. the cheese proceeded mainly from farms (90.1%) and was kept at room temperature (90.1%) with evidence of carelessness and insufficient knowledge of the vendors on the hygiene of foodstuffs. The contamination by MAM, ECP and CTT, posted averages of 7.4 and 2.5 log CFU/g and 1.2 log MPN/g, respectively. E. coli and SAL were not identified - 71% of the samples were classified as nonconforming. The comparison of the microbiological quality of cheese in the colon of trade, showed the worst sanitaryhygienic condition of the product on beaches. It follows that trade in curdle cheese is important social and economic activity in the city, however, were confirmed child labor in the segment and the precarious sanitary practices of the supply chain and marketing, with identification of pathogens in the product, which signals the need for intervention, with a view at the promoting and protecting the rights of children and adolescents, the supply chain and the public health.