Operação Leite Compensado, in RS — Photo: Reproduction/ RBS TV
The Rio Grande do Sul Court sentenced 15 people in a case that found adulteration of dairy products manufactured by Dielat, in Taquara. The case is related to Operação Leite Compensado, launched in December 2024. The complaint from the Public Ministry of Rio Grande do Sul (MPRS) gave rise to the criminal action judged now.
According to the sentence, the group used chemical products to alter milk parameters, kept parallel records to hide inspection irregularities and reused expired or unsuitable products in food manufacturing.
The decision is from the 2nd State Court for the Process and Judgment of the Crimes of Criminal Organization and Money Laundering and was signed this Tuesday (13). The 15 defendants were convicted of criminal association. Thirteen of them were also convicted of adulterating food products.
See the feathers
The heaviest sentences were applied to Antônio Ricardo Colombo Sader and Tales Bardo Laurindo, sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in prison, in an initial closed regime.
Antônio Ricardo Colombo Sader was the owner of the company and occupied the highest position in the structure identified by the Court;
Tales Bardo Laurindo, in turn, was industrial director and, according to the decision, commanded the factory, acquired loads of acidic and deteriorated milk and coordinated clandestine deposits;
Gustavo Raimundo Lauck, sentenced to 12 years and 4 months, is named in the sentence as technically responsible for the formulas used to neutralize acidity. According to the document, he went over equations to calculate the dosages of caustic soda and hydrogen peroxide, in addition to working to hide batches during inspections;
Sérgio Alberto Seewald received a sentence of 11 years and 1 month, in an initial closed regime. The judge describes him as a member of the technical-chemical nucleus and states that he provided neutralization formulas, advised the use of soda on scales and worked in the laboratory;
Daniel Silvério Junior, Everson Cavalheiro and Jonatas Ramalho Hinschink were sentenced to 10 years and 2 months in prison each, in an initial closed regime. The three worked as shift managers and, according to the sentence, worked on moving inappropriate inputs, authorizing the addition of caustic soda to silos and reprocessing deteriorated batches;
Leonarda Manuela Peters, quality monitor, received a sentence of 7 years and 8 months, initially semi-open. According to the decision, the responsibility attributed to her is related to the failure to register non-conformities and the release of shipments of adulterated products;
Deroci Vicente Dutra da Silva Filho, production supervisor, was sentenced to 4 years and 1 month. According to the sentence, he transmitted dosage orders for caustic soda and peroxide, coordinated clandestine deposits and organized the sorting of inappropriate inputs;
Manoela Schilling Flesch, laboratory analyst, was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months. According to the decision, he filled out official spreadsheets with forged data and carried out new analyzes after neutralizing the products;
Eduarda Luiza da Silva Rosa, who worked as a laboratory assistant, also received a sentence of 3 years and 10 months. The Court assigned her role in filling out spreadsheets as directed by superiors;
Milena Maiara da Silva, leader of the laboratory, was sentenced to 3 years, 7 months and 15 days. According to the sentence, she made the calculations to determine the volume of caustic soda that would be placed in the silos and transmitted the quantities to the production team;
Adrieli Vitória de Mello, who worked as an analyst, laboratory leader and later in quality control, was sentenced to 2 years and 5 months. According to the sentence, he calculated dosages of caustic soda and peroxide, transmitted instructions to operators and participated in the maintenance of parallel records;
Kennedy Saratt Leiria was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months for criminal association. According to the sentence, he worked on production and cost planning and control and provided support in the flow of stock information, traceability and warehouse logistics;
Alaete Girardi also received a sentence of 1 year and 6 months for criminal association. According to the decision, he acted in administrative support and “financial concealment” by giving up his company to cover up the remuneration for services provided by Sérgio Alberto Seewald.
g1 is trying to locate the defenses of those convicted and contacted Dielat, but received no response until publication. The space remains open for demonstrations.
"Vitamin" was code for lye
One of the central points of the sentence is the use of chemicals to alter the acidity of milk. According to the decision, "vitamin" was the code used for caustic soda, while "lactose" was used to refer to hydrogen peroxide.
According to the records, when analyzes indicated high acidity, calculations were made to define the amount of chemical that should be added to the silos. The sentence cites the seizure of notebooks and diaries with mathematical formulas used to determine these dosages.
The document also states that the caustic soda was removed from the industry's cleaning structure and placed in the silos using buckets, funnels or pipes. After the addition, new analyzes were carried out to verify the product parameters.
The decision also records an episode involving Silo 3. According to the records, the milk initially intended for UHT production had high acidity and received caustic soda. UHT production was then canceled and the product was redirected to dairy compound.
Expired products, animal feed and floor sweeping
Batches of expired dairy products were found in a clandestine warehouse — Photo: Vítor Rosa/RBS TV
Another point highlighted by the ruling is the existence of deposits not declared to inspection. According to the ruling, more than 800 tons of deteriorated, expired, unlabeled goods or intended for animal feed were found in clandestine warehouses, including a warehouse on Rua Amazonas.
The decision also states that products from these warehouses returned to the factory and were reincorporated into production. There are also references to the reuse of scrapings from drying chambers, materials intended for animal feed and floor sweeping residues in the manufacture of dairy compounds.
The sentence also mentions a simulation of the disposal of products condemned by the Ministry of Agriculture. According to the report accepted by the court, two bags were burned in the boiler to record a video, while the rest of the material would be kept for reuse.
Spreadsheets hid real results
The decision also describes a system of parallel records. According to the ruling, true analysis results were kept in internal controls, while spreadsheets presented to inspection contained parameters that indicated compliance.
The judge considered that the collaborators' testimonies were not isolated. Among the elements cited to corroborate them are official certificates of analysis, statements from auditors and investigators, notebooks with chemical formulas, digital spreadsheets and products seized in warehouses.
The reports analyzed in the process highlighted irregularities in different products. Among them were changes in acidity, non-standard protein and lactose content, presence of coliforms, bovine DNA in goat's milk and undeclared maltodextrin in whole milk powder.
Products must be destroyed
The sentence determined the forfeiture and definitive destruction of dairy products, inputs, raw materials and food substances seized in the files and in the warehouses linked to Dielat and Agrovita. The Ministry of Agriculture must be notified to arrange disposal if it has not yet occurred.
It was also determined that the decision be communicated to city halls that have current contracts or ongoing tenders with legal entities linked to the defendants, especially in school feeding programs.
VIDEOS: Everything about RS
