Influence of conventional and organic farming systems on brown sugar quality

• Autor(a) principal: Doneda, Raquel Roman Ros
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Andriolli, Cristian Rafael, Leite, Oldair Donizeti, Drunkler, Deisy Alessandra
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Semina. Ciências Agrárias (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://ojs.uel.br/revistas/uel/index.php/semagrarias/article/view/46324
• topic: Açúcar mascavo; Segurança dos alimentos; Qualidade nutricional; Sistemas produtivos.; Brown sugar; Food security; Nutritional quality; Productive systems.

Brown sugar is obtained from sugarcane juice, preserving its properties almost unchanged from the raw material. Sugarcane cultivation may be carried out using either a conventional or organic production system, where the latter stands out for its growing demand linked to nutritional quality, food safety, and environmental issues appeal. This study aimed to analyze the influences of organic and conventional production systems on the physical-chemical, sensory properties, and sanitary-hygienic quality of commercial brown sugar. Eleven samples (05 conventional and 06 organic) were analyzed. The results were treated statistically using analysis of variance and submitted to the Tukey Test when a significant difference was detected at the 5% level. The samples, regardless of the type of cultivation, showed varied results for the attributes moisture (0.80 to 3.24%), pH (6.03 to 8.71), ash (0.35 to 2.36%), conductimetric ash (0.88 to 6.35%), glucose-reducing carbohydrates (3.09 to 7.91%), and polarity (80.19 to 92.95 °Z). For the attribute polarity, only five samples met the only parameter set by law (above 90.0 °Z). The color showed luminosity between 44.05 and 61.72. As for minerals and metals, sample OBS3 showed the highest Ca (1,829.27 mg kg-1) and Mg (885.31 mg kg-1) concentrations. Sample OBS1 showed greater amounts of Mn (18.26 mg kg-1) and had the lowest concentration of Al (1.02 mg kg-1). Sample OBS4 had the lowest content of Na (7.27 mg kg-1); sample OBS6 had the lowest Cu content (3.06 mg kg-1) and the highest Zn content (6.43 mg kg-1). The highest Fe concentration was present in the CBS4 sample, with 137.47 mg kg-1. The heavy metal Pb was not detected in samples CBS2, CBS3, and OBS3. The samples presented satisfactory results and indicative of hygienic-sanitary practices by microscopic and microbiological analysis, with the absence of Coliforms at 45 ºC and Salmonella sp. and acceptable mesophile, mold, and yeast values. Sensory analysis showed no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) among the evaluated attributes: color, visual granularity, sweet taste, characteristic aroma, solubility in the mouth, and overall acceptance. Regarding the type of sugarcane cultivation, the results could not confirm any advantage in the nutritional quality and sanitary hygiene of either conventional or organic brown sugar.