Abstract

ARTEAGA SOLORZANO, Rudyard Antonio; ARMENTEROS AMAYA, Mabelin; QUINTANA GARCIA, Denise  and  MARTINEZ VASALLO, Ailín. Evaluation of good practices in the production of artisan cheese in Manabí, Ecuador. Rev Salud Anim. [online]. 2021, vol.43, n.2  Epub Aug 01, 2021. ISSN 2224-4700.

Artisan fresh cheese is one of the bases of the Ecuadorian population's diet. However, there are few studies evaluating compliance with good practices in rural areas as a starting point for obtaining a quality and safe artisan fresh cheese. The objective of this study was to evaluate compliance with good practices in the production of artisan fresh cheese in the province of Manabí, Ecuador. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 562 producers/artisan cheese dairies in four cantons located in the north of this province. The observation method, unstructured interviews with producers and a checklist were used. It was found that there were deficiencies in animal handling, hygiene in the milking, molding-pressing processes, environmental conditions, storage, and transportation in the following cantons: El Carmen, Chone, Flavio Alfaro, and Pedernales. It is concluded that the production of artisan fresh cheese in the cantons studied was carried out according to family traditions in non-standardized processes, with uncontrolled raw materials, insufficient conservation and transportation to the point of sale. It was demonstrated that 99.5 % (559) of the producers involved in the study had a medium, low and very low level in the application of the Good Manufacturing Practices regarding artisan productions. It is necessary to evaluate the quality of the final product along with a training program for all the stakeholders involved in this production chain.

Keywords : artisan cheese dairies; cheese quality; canton.

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