“…Among the several fruit distillates available in Mediterranean climate countries, fig distillates are one of the oldest (Ayed et al, 1992). Depending on the quality of the raw products and the hygienic and fermentative conditions in the distillery, some fig distillates might show some problems common to other raw distillates, namely high acidity (Versini et al, 1995;Galego, 2006) and high copper content (Galego, 2006;Caldas et al, 2009;Penteado & Masini, 2009), the latter associated with the traditional use of copper distillers. The maximum permitted level of copper in Brazilian sugarcane spirits is 5.00 mg L )1 (Neves et al, 2007), while in Portugal, for strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) distillates, the maximum level is 15.0 mg L )1 (Decreto-Lei 238 ⁄ 2000 de 26 de Setembro).…”