Abastract
This article discusses the relation between technical discourses, symbolic constructions and social practices, questioning their apparent borders and analyzing the hinges by means of which they effectively constitute themselves. This is explored through the matter of hygiene in the production of bread, in two contexts researched ethnographically: a bakery course offered by SENAI and bakeries themselves. At first glance, these appear to be opposing contexts - the SENAI has facilities that are conspicuous for their cleanliness, and the Institute emphasizes this concern in taught classes; in contrast, the bread produced in the bakeries that I researched vied for space with rodents, roaches, bacteria and damaged instruments. However, it is argued that both can be understood in light of a similar dynamic, so long as "hygiene" is considered within a specific logic of appropriation that emphasizes the particular social interactions from which its “objective", "scientific" and “impersonal” character is mobilized.
keywords:
Hygiene; Good Manufacturing Practices; Bakeries; SENAI; Ethnography