Vilson Alves de Góis

Quality of unprocessed cooled fresh coconut water manually extracted by street vendors

Arq. Inst. Biol., v.84, 1-5, e0512016, 2017 ABSTRACT: Coconut water is a versatile beverage that is rich in nutrients, has few calories, and presents functional and therapeutic characteristics, improving the well-being and health of consumers. However, the growth of deteriorating microorganisms is facilitated by its water activity and high nutrient content; and when combined with improper handling, this product may become a carrier of foodborne diseases. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the quality of unprocessed cooled fresh coconut water manually extracted by street vendors. Twelve samples of coconut water were collected and subjected to physicochemical (total titratable acidity, pH, and total soluble solids) and microbiological (mesophilic, and psychrotrophic microorganisms, molds, yeasts, and thermotolerant and total coliforms) analyses. The physicochemical analysis showed variations of 4.3–5.4 for pH, 0.01–0.03 for total titratable acidity, and 2.8–6.3 for total soluble solids. The microbiological analysis showed high contamination in the samples by deteriorating microorganisms, with 58% of the samples contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, regular use of good hygiene practices for handling manually extracted coconut water is necessary to physicochemically and microbiologically standardize this product. Thus, ensuring the quality of the coconut water when it is manually extracted by street vendors and trade as an unprocessed, cooled, and fresh beverage and consequently minimize consumer’s health risks.

Características físico-químicas do leite caprino na época seca e chuvosa na microrregião de Mossoró-RN

Tendo em vista a importância da qualidade do leite de cabra para a sua comercializacao, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar as caracteristicas fisico-quimicas do leite caprino na epoca seca e chuvosa na microrregiao de Mossoro-RN. Para isto, foram coletadas amostras de 17 produtores durante 30 semanas sendo 15 semanas no periodo seco e 15 no chuvoso. As amostras apos coletadas foram transportadas, em caixas isotermicas, para o Laboratorio de Tecnologia de Alimentos da Universidade Federal Rural do Semiarido (UFERSA), onde foram analisadas em duplicatas quanto aos seguintes parâmetros fisico-quimicos: acidez titulavel (D), solidos totais (%), proteina (%), solidos nao gordurosos (%), gordura (%), densidade (g/cm3) e indice crioscopico (H), totalizando 8.640 analises. Os dados foram submetidos a analise de variância e as medias comparadas pelo teste Tukey a 1 e 5% de probabilidade. Verificou-se que as caracteristicas fisico-quimicas do leite caprino avaliado na microrregiao de Mossoro-RN sofreram alteracao conforme a epoca chuvosa e seca do ano. O periodo chuvoso ou seco dependendo da semana de analise influenciou acidez titulavel, proteina, gordura, solidos totais e solidos nao gordurosos. A densidade e indice crioscopico nao sofreu alteracao com periodo de chuva e seco do ano. No periodo chuvoso a acidez titulavel, proteina, solidos totais, SNG, gordura foram superiores ao do periodo seco. O teor de proteina, densidade e SNG ficaram abaixo do minimo estabelecido pela legislacao brasileira.