University of São Paulo: Cultural issues and reduced purchasing power influence cheese consumption in Brazil
At any cold cuts counter in supermarkets and bakeries, it is easy to find bulk cheese and mozzarella cheese for sale. It’s a sign of the product’s popularity in terms of consumer preference, but it’s still low. According to the Brazilian Association of Cheese Industries (Abiq), the average per capita consumption of cheese in Brazil is around 5.6 kg/year. Argentina, on the other hand, has the highest consumption in Latin America, with 12 kg per capita /year. World champion in this regard, Greece consumed, in 2014, no less than 37.4 kilos of cheese per capita/year, according to the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). To stimulate consumption growth in Brazil, however, it is necessary to do more than restore the purchasing power of the population.
Agronomist Fabiana Cunha Viana Leonelli, professor at the Department of Biosystems Engineering at the Faculty of Zootechnics and Food Engineering of Pirassununga (FZEA) at USP, says that cheese is one of the foods that is most incorporated into the eating habits of a people. “There are also cultural issues involved in the consumption of cheese not only in Brazil, but around the world. These differences between consumption levels are also explained by regional preferences and the meaning that cheese has in the gastronomic formation of a people, going beyond the food dimension. But as a food, cheese is part of the cultural heritage in countries like France and Italy,” she explains. It is noteworthy that Italy, France and Spain account for half of the approximately two thousand types of cheese that exist in the world.
Cultural heritage
Brazil claims the seal of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, conferred by Unesco, for the production methods of Minas Artesanal Cheese. The expectation of the producers is that this seal will be granted in 2024, which will help to spread the product and, as a consequence, accelerate the process of cultural assimilation, which, incidentally, is already happening with the news in recent years of the various awards that Brazilian artisanal cheeses have conquered the world.
With regard to industrial cheeses, Fabiana says that several studies show that, when there is an improvement in the purchasing power of the population, there is a significant increase in the consumption of milk and derivatives, such as yogurt and cheese, especially the most popular ones, which are the and the mozzarella. “It is a fact that industrialized cheeses such as Prato and Mozzarella are widely accepted nationally due to their versatility of use, but there are regionalized preferences such as Minas Fresh, Cured and Half Cured, Coalho cheese, Parmesan cheese, different types of cottage cheese, including cutting cheese, in addition to buffalo, goat and sheep cheese.”
Regardless of the type of cheese on the consumer’s table, the important thing is to know if it is suitable for a healthy diet . Nutritionists say that Roquefort, Prato, Provolone, Sheep and Goat, Gruyère, Gouda, Cheddar, Camembert, Brie and Gorgonzola types, for example, are the richest in fat and, therefore, should not be adopted for daily consumption. To give you an idea, 30 grams of these types of cheese contain between 89 and 140 calories. “If we compare mozzarella cheese and the dish with cottage cheese, with ricotta and fresh cheese, we will have a greater amount of fat”, says nutritionist Renata Dessordi, PhD in food and nutrition from Unesp and professor from Faculdade Estácio, in Ribeirão Preto.
healthy consumption
As a tip for a healthy diet, she suggests managing portions of cheese on a daily basis. “The participation of dairy in the diet is particular because each person has a goal, a different calorie recommendation.” There are also people who do specific treatments for chronic illnesses. “If we think about hypertensive patients, they need to be more careful with harder cheeses, those that are more mature, because they will have a higher amount of sodium. Kidney patients, for example, in addition to being concerned about sodium in more mature cheeses, also need to be concerned about proteins.” For this audience, softer cheeses, such as ricotta, cottage and fresh cheese are the most recommended. “In general,
For cheese to be definitively incorporated into the Brazilian diet, a series of linked factors is necessary. “It is necessary to understand regional preferences, times and forms of consumption and offer consumers a wide range of products, from those produced industrially or under registered artisanal systems. These are some strategies that can also leverage cheese consumption in Brazil and open up new perspectives for the segment. Finally, public policies that come to strengthen such initiatives can contribute significantly to expanding supply and stimulating demand in the country’s cheese market,” concludes Fabiana.