Physical hazards in dairy products: Incidence in a consumer complaint website in Brazil

The incidence of physical hazards in dairy products (2012-2016) was investigated through a complaint website (Reclame Aqui) used by Brazilian consumers to report complaints. Among the complaints, 2% referred to the presence of physical hazards in the products. With regard to milk and dairy products, 515 complaints were reported, with the greatest percentage for yogurt/milk drink (37%) followed by UHT milk (14.6%) and milk powder (10.7%). The least cited products were Prato Cheese, Brie-type cheese, and Cottage cheese (0.3-0.4%). The most reported hazards were the presence of foreign objects (42.4%), followed by insects (23.3%), hair (15.2%), plastics (11.1%), metal (6.2%) and fabric (1.8%). The results showed failures in both Brazilian dairy foods processing and the public-sector inspection, and demonstrated that the Internet has proven to be an effective tool for spreading consumer dissatisfaction.