A set of experiments was carried out to validate a method for inorganic contaminants in honeybee-collected pollen, consisting of digestion of the samples in a closed microwave-assisted system and quantification of 10 inorganic contaminants by ICP OES. Forty-three samples of Brazilian bee pollen, collected in southeastern Brazil during one year, were analyzed. Determination of these analytes is important both as bioindicators of pollution and to verify the safety of consuming the pollen itself. The method had satisfactory performance, with good accuracy and precision. The ranges of the mean levels were 10.4-268.0 mg/kg for Al, <0.01-1.38 mg/kg for As, 2.78-17.63 mg/kg for Ba, 0.003-0.233 mg/kg for Cd, <0.01-1.11 mg/kg for Co, <0.01-2.32 mg/kg for Cr, <0.10-1.13 mg/kg for Ni, <0.01-0.44 mg/kg for Pb, <0.035-1.33 mg/kg for Sb, and <0.0004-0.0068 mg/kg for Hg. Contamination seemed to occur in the following decreasing order: Sao Paulo > Minas Gerais > Espirito Santo. Generally higher levels of all studied contaminants were observed in samples produced in an urban site, compared to those of a rural site. Al, Cd, Co, and Pb tended to have higher levels during the dry months (July-October). Ingestion estimates showed that Al and As would have the highest contributions to the adult diet, reaching 27 and 8%, respectively, of the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) values, considering a daily portion of 25 g.

A composição de minerais foi investigada em 154 amostras de pólen apícola, provenientes de diferentes regiões do Brasil. A técnica de ICP OES foi utilizada para determinar Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Se e Zn, após mineralização em sistema de microondas. Utilizando parâmetros instrumentais otimizados conseguiu-se boa exatidão e precisão na determinação simultânea dos minerais. Em geral, as amostras dos estados do Nordeste apresentaram teores de minerais mais elevados e produção constante durante o ano. Os minerais Mn, Se, Cu, Zn, Fe são os que poderiam ter maior contribuição na dieta, podendo atingir 70, 37, 27, 17 e 17%, respectivamente, da ingestão dietética diária recomendada no Brasil. A análise de componentes principais mostrou que Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P e Zn podem ser usados na classificação do pólen nacional em função da origem geográfica. Os teores dos minerais variaram amplamente ao longo do ano.The mineral composition of bee pollen was investigated in 154 samples from different Brazilian regions. Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Se and Zn were determined by ICP OES after microwave mineralization. Employing optimized instrumental parameters, the method was shown to have a good precision and accuracy for the simultaneous determination of minerals. Overall, samples from the Northeastern states presented significantly higher amounts of minerals and showed constant production throughout the year. Manganese, Se, Cu, Zn and Fe were the elements that showed the greatest possible contributions to the diet, contributing with 70, 37, 27, 17 and 17%, respectively, of the Brazilian recommended daily intake. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to study geographic effects. The elements Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P and Zn were important in explaining the classification of pollen according to their geographical origin. The mineral levels varied widely during the year.

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Sete amostras de polpa de goiaba estáveis ao armazenamento a 25 ºC, preservadas com o uso da tecnologia de métodos combinados e tratadas com sacarose, ácido cítrico e sorbato de potássio foram avaliadas quanto às variações de cor em relação à amostra original (sem tratamento). As medidas de cor foram realizadas por reflexão em espectrofotômetro. Com os dados obtidos calculou-se o croma e a diferença total da cor em relação à amostra original. Todos os tratamentos foram avaliados visualmente e ordenados quanto à intensidade de luminosidade, vermelho e amarelo por uma equipe de julgadores com discriminação superior para cor. Todos as amostras apresentaram diminuição da luminosidade, do teor de vermelho e de amarelo em relação à polpa de goiaba inicial, com exceção do tratamento 1 (0% de sacarose, 0,75% de ácido cítrico e 0,10% de sorbato de potássio), que obteve dados de cor bastante próximos aos da polpa original. INTRODUÇÃOO mundo é percebido pelo ser humano mediante seus sentidos, dos quais a visão é o mais marcante. O impacto visual não envolve apenas a forma e aspecto dos objetos, mas também a cor. Dos três principais atributos de qualidade dos alimentos -cor, sabor e textura -a cor torna-se cada vez mais importante, à medida que os alimentos são expostos e vendidos (4).

Estudou-se a influência de três ingredientes, açúcar impalpável (formulação padrão), cacau em pó e polpa de morango desidratado, na firmeza de balas moles produzidas com e sem goma gelana (nome genérico do polissacarídio produzido pela fermentação controlada do microrganismo Pseudomonas elodea). Na forma nativa ( high acyl), a goma gelana pode produzir géis macios e elásticos e na forma modificada ( low acyl) géis duros e quebradiços. As amostras foram produzidas com a goma gelana low acyl. Cada ingrediente foi testado em três diferentes concentrações (5, 7 e 10%) e adicionados na etapa de estiramento da massa de bala. As amostras foram avaliadas quanto ao parâmetro de firmeza (dureza) utilizando-se texturômetro e os resultados avaliados estatisticamente pelo teste ANOVA. As amostras também foram analisadas quanto ao teor de umidade pela metodologia de Karl Fisher. Para as balas produzidas sem goma gelana, o acréscimo na concentração dos ingredientes testados influenciou diretamente o aumento da firmeza. Já para as balas produzidas com a adição de goma gelana, o uso de 5% dos ingredientes resultou em maior firmeza e de 7% em menor firmeza. Concluiu-se que a adição de diferentes ingredientes em formulação base, com o objetivo de variar o sabor, possibilita a produção de balas com texturas distintas a partir da mesma linha de fabricação. INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT INGREDIENTS ON SOFT CANDIES TEXTURE PRODUCED WITH THE ADDITION OF GELLAN GUM Abstract The influence of three ingredients were studied, sugar powder, cocoa powder and strawberry dried pulp in the hardness of soft candies produced with and without the addition of gellan gum (generic name for the polysaccharide obtained by the controlled fermentation of the microorganism Pseudomonas elodea). At its native form (high acyl) the gellan gum can produce soft and elastic gels and at its modified form (low acyl) hard and fragile gels. The samples were produced using the low acyl gellan gum. Three different concentrations from each ingredient were tested (5, 7 and 10%) and they were added at the pulling time in the process. The hardness of the samples was measured in a texture analyzer and the results were statistically analyzed by ANOVA test. The samples had their humidity verified by the Karl Fischer methodology. For the candies produced without gellan gum, their hardness increased proportionally to the percentage of the added ingredients. For the candies produced with gellan gum, the addition of all the tested ingredients at 5% concentration resulted to the highest hardness while the 7% concentration showed the lowest hardness. It was concluded that the addition of different ingredients to the basic formulation, with the objective of varying flavor, possibilitates the production of candies with distinct textures from the same fabrication line.

Changes in temperature, relative humidity, and moisture content of green coffee beans were monitored during transportation of coffee from Brazil to Italy. Six containers (three conventional and three prototype) were stowed in three different places (hold, first floor, and deck) on the ship. Each prototype was located next to a conventional container. The moisture content of the coffee in the container located on the first floor was less affected by environmental variations (0.7%) than that in the hold and on the deck. Coffee located in the hold showed the highest variation in moisture content (3%); in addition, the container showed visible condensation. Coffee transported on the deck showed an intermediary variation in moisture (2%), and there was no visible condensation. The variation in coffee moisture content of the prototype containers was similar to that of the conventional ones, especially in the top layers of coffee bags (2 to 3%), while the increase in water activity was 0.70. This suggests that diffusion of moisture occurs very slowly inside the cargo and that there are thus sufficient time and conditions for fungal growth. The regions of the container near the wall and ceiling are susceptible to condensation since they are close to the headspace with its high relative humidity. Ochratoxin A production occurred in coffee located at the top of the container on the deck and in the wet bags from the hold (those found to be wet on opening the containers at the final destination).

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Laranjas da variedade Pêra, previamente armazenadas durante três dias, com e sem etileno foram pulverizadas com Imazalil, Tiabendazol e a mistura de ambos, formulados ou não com cera. Em seguida, foram mantidas durante 25 dias a 4ºC ± 2ºC/90% ± 5% de umidade relativa, sendo avaliados parâmetros de qualidade da laranja, antes e ao final do armazenamento. Com exceção do atributo cor não ocorreram diferenças estatisticamente significativas nos demais parâmetros químicos e físico-químicos, independente da exposição ao etileno. O etileno foi eficiente no desverdecimento de laranjas, sem comprometer seus atributos de qualidade, e o tratamento posterior com cera contribuiu para manter inalterado o padrão de cor obtido. EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF PÊRA ORANGE FRUIT AFTER STORAGE IN ETHYLENE Abstract Oranges of the variety Pêra previously stored during three days with and without ethylene were sprayed with Imazalil, Thiabendazole and a mixture of both fungicides, formulated with and without wax. Following this treatment the fruits were stored during 25 days at 4ºC ± 2ºC / 90% ± 5% of relative humidity, parameters related to orange quality were evaluated before and after the storage period. With exception of the attribute color, no significative statistically differences were observed in the chemical and physical-chemical parameters, independent of the exposure to ethylene. The ethylene was effective for the degreening of orange with no action on the quality parameters. The further treatment with wax contributed to maintain the pattern of colour unchanged.