Producers of MG create source tags

Food manufacturers of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region are investing in the creation of own brands, with labels identifying the items they produce, and preparing for the increasing demand of consumers in relation to food safety. Don't expect to ensure only the access points, the quantities reported, delivery and continuity of stable prices, but also in relation to the quality of the products consumed.
"The main objective of the creation of the brand is to protect the quality of our cheese, ensuring that consumers will purchase products reliable, says the businessman Guilherme Ferreira, cheese farmer of type canasta in São Roque de Minas (MG)."In addition, we are opening new markets, to allow the growth of local production and attracting investors. "
At the beginning of December 2014, approximately 800 producers of cheese from Serra da Canastra region, Midwest region of Minas Gerais, in the municipalities of Bambuí, Delfinópolis, Medeiros, Piumhi, Tapiraí and Vargem Bonita, besides São Roque de Minas, launched the label "Geographical Identification", in "indication of origin", of the National Institute of Industrial Property (Inpi). The goal was to indicate the origin of the product and reduce the risk of competition from cheeses of different origin using the trademark "canasta".
"The seal and visual identity of cheese, as well as highlight our culture and our tradition, guarantee to consumers the origin of the product's legitimacy miner. The goal is to add value to the activity of small producers from the region of Serra da Canastra while maintaining a sufficient remuneration for generations to continue with this tradition to produce the cheese canasta ", says President of the Associação dos Produtores de Queijo da Serra da Canastra (Aprocan) João Carlos Leite.
A month earlier, in November 2014, in São Gotardo (MG), about 200 kilometers from the Serra da Canastra, also in the Midwest of the State, approximately 400 producers of fruits and vegetables launched his own brand of items produced in the region.
Now, the fruits and vegetables produced in the municipalities of São Gotardo, Ibiá, Campos Altos and Rio Paranaíba receive the seal "Gotthard Region", the region's own brand. Among the products that will receive the mark are the carrot (the region accounts for about 30% of the national production), garlic (about 20% of the national production) and avocado (about 10% of national production).
"The brand aims to unite the producers of the Gotthard region in a just cause, with sole purpose and vision of the future, which is in line with market trends. The seal guarantees the origin, which, in turn, also guarantees their quality, "says producer Jorge Kiryu, Chairman of the regulatory Board of the Gotthard Region Brand.
The approximately 400 producers are distributed into groups and organized into two cooperatives: the Cooperativa Agropecuária do Alto Paranaíba (Coopadap) and the cooperative Agribusiness of the Brazilian Cerrado (Coopacer). Two years ago, in preparation for the launch of his own brand, these two cooperatives in partnership with Sebrae Minas created an advanced management program for producers, which involved actions by the gardeners for deployment in these properties of a business administration, to allow, at the same time, an accurate control of indicators such as cost, productivity, sales and billing, and the support of a rigorous control of the quality of the products.
"Food security is the biggest concern of consumers. The attention to quality and origin of products is an inevitable trend of the market worldwide. There's no way to escape it. We're anticipating a situation which, sooner or later, will stand in Brazil. People want to know the history of the products they consume, "says Kyryu.
The producer, explains that the pea, for example, when canned, is the cheapest item contained in the product. "Tin, label and even the water in the container have a higher cost. The pea is the item that costs less. This reveals the importance, not only of the need to add value, but to put on the label, as well in the eyes of the consumer, the source of that product. Your history and the manufacturers, "he says.
"It is necessary to be prepared for an increasingly demanding market. Within two decades, the traceability of the product will be a common thing. We have to respond to that, "says Kyryu.