Assessment of conformity of volumetric capacity of casseroles and cauldrons to manufacturer's specifications and the Brazilian legislation/Avaliacao da conformidade de capacidade volumetrica de cacarolas e caldeiroes frente as especificacoes do fabricante e a legislacao brasileira

Aluminum casseroles and cauldrons are indispensable tools in domestic kitchens and food and nutrition units (FNU). Knowledge about their volumetric capacity has relevance in practice of FNUs, since it leads to more effective control of the management and portioning of food, thus reducing the chances of waste or optimizing food storage space. Thus, this study was planned to assess if the volumetric capacity of casseroles and cauldrons, described by the manufacturers, reflects the actual values analyzed and if they are in accordance with the current legislation. Were studied twelve kinds of casseroles and nine kinds of cauldrons. The evaluations were made in three repetitions. Analysis of variance and Student's t-test were used for comparisons of the values described by the manufacturers versus the actual measurement found. The values were compared with those described by the Brazilian Legislation in force. The volumetric capacity values reported by the manufacturers, when compared with the measured ones, showed no statistically significant difference. However, there was significant volumetric variation permitted by the legislation and the lack of clarity on the accuracy of volumetric capacity of industrial-line casseroles and cauldrons used in FNUs. There was non-compliance with the legislation regarding the information to be included on a permanent basis in the body of the pans and cauldrons on 72 % of the analyzed utensils. It is concluded that care is needed in using these tools during the preparation of food. Reformulation is suggested of the Brazilian standard on the volumetric capacity of these items, considering volume variation that does not exceed 20%. Key words: Food Services. Cooking and Eating Utensils. Science and Technology Regislation. Weights and Measures. Technical Standards. As cacarolas e caldeiroes de aluminios sao utensilios indispensaveis em cozinhas domesticas e Unidades de Alimentacao e Nutricao (UAN). Conhecer sua capacidade volumetrica possui relevancia na pratica das UANs, uma vez que conduz ao controle mais efetivo quanto a administracao e porcionamento dos alimentos, reduzindo as chances de desperdicios ou otimizando o espaco de seu armazenamento. Assim, planejou-se o presente estudo a fim de avaliar se a capacidade volumetrica de cacarolas e caldeiroes, descrita pelos fabricantes, encontra-se de acordo com os valores reais analisados e em concordancia com a legislacao. Foram estudados 12 tipos de cacarolas e nove tipos de calde