Which dulce de leche is that? A discussion on the identity and quality standard of creamy dulce de leche

Abstract

This study aimed at determining the quality of commercial creamy dulce de leche, and to discuss whether there is a mischaracterization of the traditional formula by the food industry, considering the identity and quality standards (PIQ–Brazilian abbreviation). Samples of five brands of creamy dulce de leche and a standard sample were evaluated, and coded as DL I, DL II, DL III, DL IV, DL V, and DL P. These samples were investigated by means of physical-chemical analyses of moisture, ash, lipids, and proteins, and analyses of color and texture parameters. The ingredient labels were analyzed and compared with the identity and quality standards. The results were treated by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test with p < 0.05 in the 10.0 Statistica (StatSoft) software. The values obtained from analyzed samples when compared with the standard one, it suggests that the dulce de leche been modified over the years. However, even with the addition of non-traditional ingredients into dulce de leche, the final product has been in accordance with the parameters set by the identity and quality standards, which can be attributed to a permissiveness of the Brazilian legislation, allied with the food industry appropriation on the traditional product.