Milk quality and safety in the informal sector in Assam, India: governance, perceptions, and practices
This paper explores how the safety of milk and dairy products is understood and managed within the informal dairy sector of Guwahati, the largest city in Assam, north-east India. The article contributes to a growing body of literature that questions negative assumptions about food safety in informal...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Informa UK Limited
2022
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/125161 |
| _version_ | 1855514338889039872 |
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| author | Nicolini, G. Guarín, A. Deka, Ram Pratim Vorley, B. Alonso, Silvia Blackmore, E. Grace, Delia |
| author_browse | Alonso, Silvia Blackmore, E. Deka, Ram Pratim Grace, Delia Guarín, A. Nicolini, G. Vorley, B. |
| author_facet | Nicolini, G. Guarín, A. Deka, Ram Pratim Vorley, B. Alonso, Silvia Blackmore, E. Grace, Delia |
| author_sort | Nicolini, G. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | This paper explores how the safety of milk and dairy products is understood and managed within the informal dairy sector of Guwahati, the largest city in Assam, north-east India. The article contributes to a growing body of literature that questions negative assumptions about food safety in informal markets, and seeks to understand how access to safe and healthy food for all is, or can be, achieved in these markets. The study combines a literature review of the informal dairy sector in Assam and India with a field survey and key informant interviews. A survey of 113 producers, intermediaries, retailers, traditional processors and consumers, provides insights into how people think about the safety of milk, and the everyday practices they employ to mitigate food safety risks when trading and consuming dairy products. Our findings suggest that, in the absence of formal guarantees of quality and safety, consumers’ cultural practices and producers’ and traders’ knowledge likely reduce the risks of consuming raw milk. Despite the informal dairy sector receiving little direct government support in India, we found that at the state level, there has been some cooperation between government officials, small-scale producers and informal traders. We conclude that the absence of adverse relations between these groups, together with proactive attempts at collaboration, could inform other Indian states’ approaches to food safety governance, and are a positive foundation for future improvements to food safety in Assam’s dairy sector. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace125161 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | Informa UK Limited |
| publisherStr | Informa UK Limited |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1251612024-03-06T10:16:43Z Milk quality and safety in the informal sector in Assam, India: governance, perceptions, and practices Nicolini, G. Guarín, A. Deka, Ram Pratim Vorley, B. Alonso, Silvia Blackmore, E. Grace, Delia dairying animal products food safety governance food science This paper explores how the safety of milk and dairy products is understood and managed within the informal dairy sector of Guwahati, the largest city in Assam, north-east India. The article contributes to a growing body of literature that questions negative assumptions about food safety in informal markets, and seeks to understand how access to safe and healthy food for all is, or can be, achieved in these markets. The study combines a literature review of the informal dairy sector in Assam and India with a field survey and key informant interviews. A survey of 113 producers, intermediaries, retailers, traditional processors and consumers, provides insights into how people think about the safety of milk, and the everyday practices they employ to mitigate food safety risks when trading and consuming dairy products. Our findings suggest that, in the absence of formal guarantees of quality and safety, consumers’ cultural practices and producers’ and traders’ knowledge likely reduce the risks of consuming raw milk. Despite the informal dairy sector receiving little direct government support in India, we found that at the state level, there has been some cooperation between government officials, small-scale producers and informal traders. We conclude that the absence of adverse relations between these groups, together with proactive attempts at collaboration, could inform other Indian states’ approaches to food safety governance, and are a positive foundation for future improvements to food safety in Assam’s dairy sector. 2022-12-31 2022-10-25T10:01:59Z 2022-10-25T10:01:59Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/125161 en Open Access Informa UK Limited Nicolini, G., Guarin, A., Deka, R.P., Vorley, B., Alonso, S., Blackmore, E. and Grace, D. 2022. Milk quality and safety in the informal sector in Assam, India: governance, perceptions, and practices. Cogent Food & Agriculture 8(1): 2137897. |
| spellingShingle | dairying animal products food safety governance food science Nicolini, G. Guarín, A. Deka, Ram Pratim Vorley, B. Alonso, Silvia Blackmore, E. Grace, Delia Milk quality and safety in the informal sector in Assam, India: governance, perceptions, and practices |
| title | Milk quality and safety in the informal sector in Assam, India: governance, perceptions, and practices |
| title_full | Milk quality and safety in the informal sector in Assam, India: governance, perceptions, and practices |
| title_fullStr | Milk quality and safety in the informal sector in Assam, India: governance, perceptions, and practices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Milk quality and safety in the informal sector in Assam, India: governance, perceptions, and practices |
| title_short | Milk quality and safety in the informal sector in Assam, India: governance, perceptions, and practices |
| title_sort | milk quality and safety in the informal sector in assam india governance perceptions and practices |
| topic | dairying animal products food safety governance food science |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/125161 |
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