Percepção das empresas de lácteos sobre programas de pagamento por qualidade do leite e evolução dos indicadores de qualidade higiênico-sanitário

Abstract

This study evaluated the perception of the dairy plants about payment programs based on milk quality indicators and thresolds of these indicators established in federal law. The evolution of higienic-sanitary indicators from herds that remained in these dairy plants from 2006 to 2010 was also evaluated. A structured questionnaire was applied in 68 dairy plants that perform analysis in the Milk Quality Laboratory at Embrapa Dairy Cattle. It was observed that 33.8% of dairy plants performed laboratory analysis to assess the quality of milk only to meet the requirements established by federal law, while 76.5% of dairy plants used these results of to define management strategies. Usually dairy plants that had adopted payment program for milk based on quality offered technical assistance to dairy farmers. Significant association was observed (p <0.05) among the dairy plants that made payment for quality and number of farms which supply milk for these dairy plants. The main advantage claimed by dairy plants regarding adoption of the payment program is improving the quality of raw milk. The dairy plants reported having difficulty in developing a program of payment for quality due to large variation in the volume of milk produced per day among producers supplying milk or have mostly small-scale farms. The maximum threshold established federal law for indicators of hygienic-sanitary quality were considered more difficult to achieve in relation to compositional quality indicators. It was observed a significant association (p <0.01) between the reduction of the total bacteria count according to the dairy plants that adopt payment programs. We observed dairy herds that had reduced the indicators of hygienic-sanitary indicators involved with dairy plants that do not pay for quality and was also observed that these indicators increased in herds involved with companies that pay for quality. The study results showed an increase in the number of dairy plants that adopt the program of payment for milk quality and the thresholds of higienic-sanitary indicators were considered the greatest challenges for the dairy plants. The adoption of programs for milk payment based on quality indicators proved to be an effective tool to encourage producers to reduce the total bacteria count, but it was not effective to reduce somatic cell counts. Studies focusing on the perception of the farmer about quality payment programs should be conducted to better understand the evolution of higienic-sanitary indicators in the dairy plants.