Cheese quality at farmers markets: observation of vendor practices and survey of consumer perceptions

Food Safety Knowledge of Cheese Consumers

“…Considering that the contamination of the cheese occurs mainly after milk pasteurization (Johnson and others 1990), the handling at the consumer's home has great importance. Washing of knives and hands prior to handling cheese, control of the storage temperature, protection from other food ingredients, mainly meats juices and raw vegetables, are simple some measures that may aid the reduction of cheese contamination by pathogens (Teng and others 2004).…”

“…This fact re‐emphasizes the need for consumer food safety education, because most of the supermarkets have routine food safety inspections and the hygienic failures in open‐air markets are well known, especially due to the lack of temperature control, restrooms without proper hand washing facilities, and protection against the environment contamination (Capistrano and others 2004). Teng and others (2004) observed inappropriate practices from the hygienic–sanitary point of view during retail sale of cheese in farmer's markets in Canada as: storage of the product next to meat products (24%), lack of temperature control (14 to 21 °C) (54%), and direct bare‐hand contact with the product (24%), showing that cheese handling at retail is a worldwide problem, and it is not restricted to nations in development, as Brazil.…”

The international risk governance council framework and its application to Listeria monocytogenes in soft cheese made from unpasteurised milk

“…There are two studies on specialty cheeses in the U.S. Teng, Wilcock, and Aung (2004) found that consumers purchased cheese (soft, semisoftsemi-soft, hard) at farmers' markets because of the selection (60%), freshness (28%), flavor (28%), price (10%), or origin (2%). Reed and Bruhn (2003) discovered that consumers purchased cheese because of they had perceived health benefits (94%), they were direct from the farm (79%), they were obtained locally (76%), were organically produced (73%), or sustainable agricultural methods were used (65%).…”

Consumers’ and farmers’ characteristics in short food supply chains: an exploratory analysis

“…Indeed, since the products are purchased directly by farmers, thereby minimising the number of people involved in the supply chain, they are cheaper than retailers (Cassani, 2012;Marotta et al, 2013;Nazzaro et al, 2017). The motivations of consumers to purchase local foods are manifold: i) they have a lower impact on the environment compared to food products from foreign countries; ii) they are considered safer, fresher and taster than those purchased via conventional retail channels (Zepeda and Deal, 2009;Archer et al, 2003;Teng et al, 2004). The direct relationship between farmers and consumers enables the farmers to convey the attributes and characteristics of foods products as well as their connection with the production area (Marsden et al, 2000), a feature which is synonymous with quality for consumers (Lyon et al, 2009).…”