Ceará Advances Dairy Industry with New Laboratory
The Federation of Industries of the State of Ceará (FIEC), through SENAI Ceará, has inaugurated a new food and beverage laboratory complex at the Centro de Serviços Industriais (CSI) Prof. Ariosto Holanda in Maracanaú. This marks a significant advancement for the local dairy industry. Previously, milk samples from Ceará had to be sent to laboratories in the southern or southeastern regions of Brazil for regulatory analysis, a process that incurred additional time and costs.
Among the four laboratories in the new complex is the Milk Quality Laboratory, dedicated to microbiological and chemical composition testing of raw milk. This facility is designed for future integration into Brazil's National Milk Quality Control Laboratory Network (RBQL), which will enable these analyses to be conducted locally.
Carlos Mesquita, the manager of the Industrial Services Center, highlighted the benefits of the new facility, including reduced logistical costs and faster analysis times, thus making local dairy products more competitive. The laboratory has been named in honor of José Antunes Fonseca da Mota, president of Sindlacticínios-CE, acknowledging his contributions to the local dairy sector.
This initiative was driven by demands from the dairy industry itself, as stated by FIEC president Ricardo Cavalcante. José Antunes remarked that the new facility fulfills a long-standing request by the dairy producers and will significantly benefit the entire food industry in the region.
The food and beverage industry is the largest in Brazil, contributing R$ 1.39 trillion to the economy in 2025, which is about 11% of the national GDP, providing over 2.1 million direct jobs. In Ceará, this sector generated R$ 19.6 billion and created more than 52,000 formal jobs, making it the second-largest industrial sector in the state.
The regional director of SENAI Ceará, Paulo André Holanda, noted the growth in their technological service capabilities, with investments rising from R$ 6 million in 2021 to R$ 38 million last year. The new laboratory complex will directly benefit 13 industrial unions, spanning industries such as beverages, bakery, coffee, and more, thus reinforcing its role as a support hub for the state's food industry.
