Representatives of the Pará State Agency of Farming Defense (Adepará) made today, 26, a technical visit to the Milk Quality Lab, Venture that is still in finalization phase, financed by the State Government, by the Secretary of Science, Technology, Professional and Technological Education (Sectet), and that integrates the Guamá Science and Technology Park (Guamá STP). The purpose of the visit wat to present the lab and its services to the Adepará, so their representatives get to know its potential for the improvement and verticalization of the dairy chain in the State.

The milk quality lab is an old demand by the state dairy producers and is a result of a joint effort. The state government, by means of the Sectet, invested about R$2,3 million at building the space. The federal government, by means of the Ministry Agriculture, Fisheries and Supply (Mapa) , was the responsible for obtaining diagnosis equipment and the Amazon Foundation for Studies and Research Support (Fapespa) acquired the furniture. The coordination is a responsibility of the Food Science and Technology program, from the Federal University of Pará.

The venture will track the Pará State dairy production, giving it control and a quality seal. The objective is to help the State dairy producers and industries to get better productivity indexes, improve the quality of the raw material and its derivatives. “The laboratory is exactly what we needed, as it will support a more precise and adequate inspection of the milk production chain in the State, thus generating more reliable products to the Paraense consumer”, said the general director of Adepará, Luciano Guedes.

Milk Quality – The laboratory services will be based on samples of raw milk (approximately 50ml), that will be collected on the property, following the adequated reccomendations for the procedures of collection and transportation. The containers, made of a plastic material and with pressure caps, will be given by the laboratory already sterilized and with preservatives.

“The quality control will cover the determination of its components, somatic cell and bacteria counts, as well as laboratory analisys of milk derivative products, as cheeses, curds, etc. This are services that will be provided for all the states of the north region, with the objective of supporting the dairy industries at the development of new products made of milk”, explains the UFPA researcher and Laboratory coordinator, Luiza Miller.

Inauguration – At this moment, the laboratory is finishing the legal paperwork for its entry to the Brazilian Network of Milk Quality Control Laboratories (RBQL), of Mapa, and waits for the installation of the last equipments and finishing of the electric part of the building to enter into full operation.

“Our main agenda before inauguration is to approach the strategic actors to the services offered by the laboratory. In this way, the Adepará is a strategic bridge to contact the main users of the laboratory, that are the milk producers, so that all the quality control tests are made inside our own state, thus dunamizing, the Pará State dairy chain”, affirms the Sectet holder, Alex Fiúza de Mello.

Text: Igor de Souza – Sectet Communication Department
Translation: Matheus Castelo – Guamá STP