Rastreabilidade do Açúcar Cristal

A Rastreabilidade na Segurança de Alimentos: o caso de uma unidade processadora de açúcar e álcool
Evandro W. Wicher*, José L. G. Hermosilla*, Ethel C. Silva*, Walther Azollini**
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Centro Universitário de Araraquara – UNIARA, Brasil
Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Brasil

Email: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]

Abstract
Food contamination such as mad-cow disease (BSE) and Avian Influenza (H5N1), is imposing new concepts for the production, distribution and marketing of food. A common feature of this problem is that the cause and focus of contamination were not detected in the short term, which highlights the need for greater control over product information and processes from origin to consumption. This growing concern has stimulated the adoption of mechanisms for identification and traceability. The objective of this research is to discuss the importance of traceability to identify potential sources of contamination or contaminated products in the food chain. The research is based on the case study in a large granulated sugar producer in Brazil, which has a tracking system for agro industry products in operation over the last five years as an aid to the food safety management system. The national sugaralcohol sector was chosen due to its leadership in production and exportation of sugar cane. Traceability plays a fundamental role in ensuring food quality and must be agile, accurate and reliable in order to provide reassurance to the consumer. This paper shows the ability of the studied traceability system to identify the source of a chemical contamination verified in the final product analysis or the identification of contaminated product when a fault occurs in the decanting process.
Keywords: traceability, sugar, Brazil, case study, agro industry.

1 Introdução
Desde os anos 90, imposições legais e disputas envolvendo contaminação de alimentos, além das
questões