Diagnosis of thewheydestination in the mesoregion Campo das Vertentes, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The objective of this work was to promote a diagnostic of the dairy producers that surrounds the area known as Campo das Vertentes, in Minas Gerais, Brazil. We evaluate the use of whey, the market prospects, and the obstacles to its commercialization. Brazil is the 4th larger producer of cheese in world, which implies in a large whey yield. Whey is a noble byproduct that deserves attention: it is composed by proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. Dairy producers registered at Federal Inspection Service (SIF) were selected. It was applied a semi-structured questionnaire to the whey producers. The region of Campo das Vertentes consists mostly of small and medium-sized dairy producers. The most common destination of whey being the animal feed and donation, due to the lack of interest of the industries or lack of structure to take advantage or market the product. It was concluded that the use of whey by the dairy industry itself is certainly an alternative that adds economic value to the final product. Moreover, it takes in consideration the protection of the environment once it is not discarded as wastewater. It can be noted that there are barriers to the use of whey become a feasible practice.