Sale of whey in supermarket is target of Procon

The sale of a dairy drink advertised as whey in a market in São Paulo drew attention on social media this week. The product was displayed in a Nagumo chain establishment for R$ 4.49, in a similar box and located in a place close to the milk ones.

Procon-SP says that there are indications of misleading advertising in the product “Drink Milk – Cristina” and that it requested explanations from the manufacturer Nova Mix Industrial e Comercial de Alimentos Ltda., whose trade name is Quatá Alimentos.

“Consumers understand that they are buying milk, when in fact they are buying whey”, says Guilherme Farid, Executive Director of Procon-SP.

He also says that the information is not highlighted enough on the label. “Is the consumer aware of the concept of what is a dairy drink? What is whey?”, he asks.

In a statement, Procon-SP stated that it had filed a request for clarification about the nutritional table of the product, indication of consumption by age group, copy of advertising materials and product dissemination media, documents that prove the quality tests, among others. . The company has until July 14 to respond to inquiries.

Sought, Quatá Alimentos said it did not receive notification from Procon-SP. In a statement, the company declared that it faithfully follows the composition and labeling rules determined by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply and that, aiming at clear and objective communication to the consumer, it informs on the label that it is a UHT milk drink, which contains 60 % whey and which dairy beverage is not milk.

“Even though the standard allows this phrase to be placed anywhere on the product label, the company chose to bring it on the main panel to make it clear to the consumer and avoid error or misunderstanding”, said the company.

As for the exposure of the product next to the milk cartons, Quatá Alimentos claims not to market products directly to the consumer and that the point of sale erroneously announced the drink by characterizing it as whey.

“The photo portrayed on social media was taken at a point of sale where the product was wrongly advertised as whey. We confirm that the product marketed is a UHT dairy drink.”

From the English Ultra High Temperature (ultra high temperature), UHT is a process in which milk is subjected to high temperatures for its sterilization.

Sought, the supermarket chain Nagumo said it has no position on the subject. “On the matter, there is still no guidance from the Board,” said the marketing department.

What is the difference between milk, whey and dairy drink?

Nutritionist Ana Cláudia Mazzonetto explains that whey is a by-product of milk processing. “When the food industry uses milk to prepare, for example, cheeses, what is left over from this cheese-making process is called a by-product, which is whey.”

Ana Carolina Fernandes, nutritionist and professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), details that whey is the liquid part that is left over when coagulation takes place to make cheese, which concentrates the most solid part of the milk, such as protein and fat.

Dairy drink is a generic term for drinks based on milk, but which can have other components, such as whey or thickeners. A yogurt that uses whey, for example, becomes a dairy drink.

Fernandes says that for many years, whey was a waste. “It only started to be used, reused for food, because this residue was causing negative environmental impacts. lo and one of the applications is to make dairy cheaper.”

In a note, Quatá Alimentos also states that “it is necessary to demystify the view that whey is just a waste of the food industry, as it is a component with nutritional benefits”.

The company also says that whey is known as Whey, and is “a liquid composed of proteins, minerals, fats, lactose and water, normally obtained from cheese production”, with highly digestible proteins of high biological value.

But Fernandes warns: “People can confuse Whey with Whey Protein. Whey is whey, Whey Protein, which athletes take, is isolated whey protein. In whey, it is diluted and not concentrated. So it’s not the same amount, it starts there.”

Whey does not replace milk

There are nutritional differences between the two products, so it is not possible to replace milk with whey. “As whey is a by-product, compared to milk it ends up having less protein, less total fat and less calcium,” says Mazzonetto.

“What we have seen is the substitution of milk for whey and the maintenance of the same packaging, for example. With an increasing variety of products in supermarkets, it is important for civil society to demand increasingly clear food labeling. and understandable. And, obviously, that the government works to guarantee everyone the right to adequate and healthy food”, says the nutritionist.

“The main question of discussion is why we’ve reached a point where our money is only able to pay for whey, not whole milk.”

Sale takes place in context of high milk prices

The commercialization of whey, a by-product of cheese, takes place in a context of high milk prices.

Natália Grigol, a researcher in the field of milk at the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea) at the University of São Paulo explained in a note that the highs are related to limited supply.

“With the winter and drier climate, the quality and availability of pastures drops and, therefore, the feeding of the herd is affected, leading to a drop in production.”

Grigol also highlights the effects of La Niña at the end of last year and beginning of this year, in addition to the increase in production costs, variation in inflation and exchange rates.

“According to research by Cepea, the Effective Operating Cost of the activity has been on the rise in the last three years and only in this last month is it beginning to show a reversal of this trend”, says the researcher.