Evaluation of structural and functional conditions of regional Portuguese kitchens, their legal framing and influence on the quality of the final product
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abstract
A region in Northeast of Portugal is known by its production of traditional meat products. Alheira is one of these products, being usually prepared in “Regional kitchens”. These are small units that cannot produce more than 2000 kg of dry sausages per year. Due to their regional importance, it was necessary to protect judicially the production of this kind of products. In fact, individual producers of regional kitchens have to follow European regulations, as well as a Portuguese normative, namely, the Law-Decree nº 209/2008 that approves the “State of Practice of the Industrial Activity” (REAI).
In order to get knowledge about the effectiveness of this normative, in the present work the structural and functional conditions of three regional Portuguese kitchens were evaluated and is discussed how these points are considered in REAI. Moreover, the quality of the final product was also determined.
The structural and functional conditions of the studied regional kitchens were adequate. Machines and local areas were appropriate and none crossing on production lines was observed. In relation to workers, their number was quite low (<3), with ages higher than 45 years old and low schooling. Most of these points are considered in REAI under the topic entitled “Descriptive Memory”. At last, it was verified that alheiras did not represent any danger to public health, as none food borne microorganisms were detected.
The region of the Northeast of Portugal is known for the production of traditional meat products. Alheira is one of these products which is usually prepared in “Regional kitchens”. These are small units that cannot produce more than 2000 kg of dry sausages per year. Due to their regional importance, it was necessary to judicially protect the production of this kind of products. In fact, individual producers of regional kitchens have to follow European regulations, as well as a Portuguese normative, namely, the Law-Decree nº 209/2008 that approves the “State of Practice of the Industrial Activity” (REAI).
In order to obtain knowledge regarding the effectiveness of this normative, in the present work the structural and functional conditions of three regional Portuguese kitchens were evaluated and the way these points are considered in REAI is discussed. Moreover, the quality of the final product was also determined.
The structural and functional conditions of the studied regional kitchens were adequate. Machines and local areas were appropriate and no crossing on production lines was observed. In regards to workers, their number was quite low (≤3), they were older than 45 and had basic education. Most of these points are considered in REAI under the topic entitled “Descriptive Memory”. Finally, it was verified that alheiras did not represent any danger to public health, since no food borne microorganisms were detected.
The region of the Northeast of Portugal is known for the production of traditional meat products. Alheira is one of these products which is usually prepared in “Regional kitchens”. These are small units that cannot produce more than 2000 kg of dry sausages per year. Due to their regional importance, it was necessary to judicially protect the production of this kind of products. In fact, individual producers of regional kitchens have to follow European regulations, as well as a Portuguese normative, namely, the Law-Decree nº 209/2008 that approves the “State of Practice of the Industrial Activity” (REAI).
In order to obtain knowledge regarding the effectiveness of this normative, in the present work the structural and functional conditions of three regional Portuguese kitchens were evaluated and the way these points are considered in REAI is discussed. Moreover, the quality of the final product was also determined.
The structural and functional conditions of the studied regional kitchens were adequate. Machines and local areas were appropriate and no crossing on production lines was observed. In regards to workers, their number was quite low (≤3), they were older than 45 and had c. Most of these points are considered in REAI under the topic named “Business Plan”. Finally, it was verified that alheiras did not represent any danger to public health, since no food borne microorganisms were detected.
