Avaliação do teor de lactose e sódio em queijos mussarela e colonial

Abstract

Lactose intolerance is caused by a deficiency in the individual's body, which has difficulty metabolizing lactose. Thinking of this need, the industries have developed product lines without lactose or with low sugar content. A new class of these products are the free or reduced lactose cheeses. However, there is a concern to verify whether there is a need to produce cheeses of low lactose or free, since it is known that the lactose is retained in the whey, and with the draining of the curd, much of the lactose is removed. In addition, some research has indicated that Brazilian cheeses have high salt content, which can be seen as a public health problem, due to the high consumption of these products by the population. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the lactose and sodium content of Mozzarella and Colonial cheeses consumed in the Southwest region of Paraná. Samples were collected from three different brands of each type of cheese. Analyzes were carried out to determine lactose, sodium chloride, pH and acidity. The results showed that the cheeses analyzed had low lactose content and therefore can be consumed by the most of people intolerant to lactose. However, the sodium content of the Mozzarella and Colonial cheeses analyzed was high, which could harm consumers' health.