DOCE DE LEITE - MARKET-SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY: Could Brazil Be the World's Largestexporter of Doce De Leite?

This publication is based on premises linked to three dimensions (axes): economic/market, scientific/research and technological/industrial. Brazil stands out in the economic/market dimension, since itis often referred to as the second country accounting for the largest doce de leite (DL) production worldwide; it is only behind Argentina. However, its DL production profile is extremely pulverized; there are more 350 manufacturers mapped countrywide in comparison to more than 70producers recorded in Argentina – such a scenario impairs the collection of real production data. Moreover, one must have in mind the manufacture of products “commercially similar to DL” (milk caramel sauce, Milk Foundant, milk caramel with doce de leite, among others) that do not get the legal status of “Doce de leite” for sales, since they do not meet the technical identity requirements and quality regulations set by Mercosul. However, they can have significant participation in the Brazilian market. Thus, it is likely inferring, based on specific data analysis, that Brazil underestimates its current annual production of doce de leite and similar products. Therefore, the country puts itself in a global position lower than that recorded for other countries due to lack of methodological review, even of technical-scientific methodologies. With respect to the scientific/research dimension, it is paramount highlighting that only few research teams focus on assessing doce de leite chemistry and technology, mainly on its interface with the industrial sector. Thus, it is common observing a lack of scientific documents published in Portuguese, both in Brazil and abroad, by Brazilian and international scholars. Nowadays, Brazilian universities are the ones mostly publishing studies on DL, worldwide (such a fact remains little explored, so far), with emphasis on institutions in Minas Gerais State that account for the largest doce de leite production in the country. Some European countries only have few publications in this field; Germany did not record any participation in this field, so far. Therefore, the main motivation for TUD - Chair of Food Chemistry's participation in a partnership with Brazil is to expand knowledge in this particular field of research. Finally, we address the technological/industrial dimension, which stands out for having DL as its main dairy food – DL is concentrated by the action of heat energy, which is generate dby small and mid-sized dairy and food industries in Brazil. The heating process helps improving DL conservation and palatability, a fact that reduces costs with transportation and storage; thus, it becomes more attractive for consumers. The combination of the two main Brazilian commodities (milk and sugar) allows value addition to the DL manufacturing process due to the strong influence of compounds generated during Maillard reaction (MR) on flavor, color, texture and smell features. In other words, Brazil has unique potential to be the world’s leader in DL industrial and scientific production. It can be an example of national repositioning due to the work performed with artisanal cheese varieties in the country. For several years, these products were put in submission position in Brazil; they were seen as products of low industrial and scientific interest. Nowadays, they standout in the national scenario thanks to efforts by different research fronts and entrepreneurial actions.