Variabilidad en la composición de quesos artesanales expendidos en los mercados de la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

Considering the growing demand for the consumption of artisanal and local products, such as cheeses, and the lack of nutritional information about them, the objective of this study was to evaluate the variability in the composition of artisanal cheeses sold in the markets of the city of Cuenca (Mercado 10 de Agosto, Mercado 9 de Octubre, Mercado 3 de Noviembre, Mercado 27 de Febrero, Mercado 12 de Abril, and Mercado el Arenal) through a cross-sectional descriptive observational study. Samples were collected by random sampling and then proximal content and salt content analyses were carried out. The analysis of the data obtained was performed using descriptive statistics. As an example, the data obtained were classified under the nutritional traffic light system used in Ecuador, as well as the octagonal system of Chile. Although the composition data show little variation among them, it is observed that they were categorized in different groups within each nutritional labeling system. These variations are attributed to the diversity in the elaboration processes, to the variability in the composition of the main raw material, which is milk, and to the conditions of conservation, which are factors that significantly influence the final composition of the product. The results obtained are important to know the variability in the composition of these products, and in this way, to establish new sampling plans and recalculate the sample size to obtain reliable results in future studies.