Beer industry in Brazil: Economic aspects, characteristics of the raw material and concerns

Barley is one of the most cultivated grains in the world with numbers rising every year due to market demand. In the past decade, Brazil has shown impressive numbers considering beer production. However, barley cultivation does not reach the necessary amount for the beer industry which raises the need to import barley or to use some alternatives, such as, adjuncts. The most common adjunct used is corn, which is considered a good source of carbohydrates, but also a very contaminated grain. Research and monitoring of all of the steps of the chain is being carried out to improve not only the malt quality but also the competitiveness in world market

Mycotoxins: risks to human health due to daily ingestion of contaminated food and its occurrence in clinical samples

Toxigenic fungi can produce mycotoxins in food in favorable conditions of temperature and humidity. The daily intake of mycotoxins in food can cause harm to human and animal health. The aim of this study was to verify the exposure of the human organism to mycotoxins and their occurrence in clinical samples. The current study evaluated the risks to human health due to the toxicity caused by mycotoxins when consumed daily in foods, as well as their occurrence in clinical samples. In this bibliographic revision, the articles were selected through a database using combined words to search of main subject, which were recruited 60 papers for the general revision and 20 papers for the data of exposure mycotoxins by the daily intake and mycotoxins in clinical samples. Mycotoxins are often found in foods, including cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables. They are highly resistant molecules that remain even after processing in the industry, including their by-products. Chronic intoxication can occur in individuals, causing health damage. The mycotoxins found in clinical samples of individuals from a region can help in the knowledge of how much the population is exposed. Thereby, it is possible take preventive measures in order to avoid possible diseases. The mycotoxins exposure has essential importance to public health, once that it may assist in the prevention or reduction of diseases. This review may contribute to instigate new research on the possible relation between mycotoxin exposure and the diseases caused by its interaction with the organism

Brazil Nut (Bertholettia excelsa H.B.K.) Selenium Distribution and Physical Chemical Characteristics of Shell, Brown Skin and Edible Part from Two Amazon Regions

Brazil nuts (Bertholettia excelsa H.B.K.) shell, brown skin and edible part from Eastern (E) and Central-Western (C-W) Amazon regions were evaluated for their selenium (Se) distribution, physical chemical characteristics regarding proximate composition, nut ratio and water availability (moisture content and water activity). Nuts samples were collected from two factories located in Manaus and Cameta cities (C-W and E, respectively) to where they are delivered from each State (Amazonas and Para) for processing. Se analysis was carried out by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma, proximate composition by the AOAC official methods and nut ration by gravimetry. Se levels varied among nut parts from the shell to edible part as follows: shell<brown skin<edible part with 0.44/0.31<20.58/6.12<44.13/19.25 mg/kg for Manaus/Cameta. Regarding lipid and protein content, they were low for shell and brown skin, however high in dietary fiber (57.17%). The shell/brown skin/edible part ratio was 4.2/3.8 g (1.2). Brown skin weight was only 1.2+-3.05 g of the whole nut. Se is a powerful antioxidant for human metabolism balance being the highest concentration detected in the edible part. From the discarded nuts parts, the brown skin had the highest percentage of that element, especially those from C-W region which could be used as a source of Se in different food applications. As expected the shell and brown skin showed low level of lipids and proteins, however quite high fiber content, especially the brown skin which is quite promising on the food fiber enrichment point of view

Easter Eggs and Other Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L) Products Quality: Insects, Mites, Fungi and Packaging versus Critical Control Points

Abstract The samples collected were sold in Florianopolis, Southern Brazil, an

Pivovarský průmysl v Brazílii: Ekonomické aspekty, charakteristika surovin a rizika

Barley is one of the most cultivated grains in the world with numbers rising every year due to market demand. In the past decade, Brazil has shown impressive numbers considering beer production. However, barley cultivation does not reach the necessary amount for the beer industry which raises the need to import barley or to use some alternatives, such as, adjuncts. The most common adjunct used is corn, which is considered a good source of carbohydrates, but also a very contaminated grain. Research and monitoring of all of the steps of the chain is being carried out to improve not only the malt quality but also the competitiveness in world market646284286Ječmen je jednou z nejvíce pěstovaných obilovin na světě, po níž se každoročně zvyšuje poptávka na trhu. V uplynulém desetiletí vykazuje Brazílie působivá data, pokud jde o výrobu piva. Pěstování ječmene však nedosahuje potřebného množství pro výrobu piva, což vyvolává potřebu dovozu ječmene nebo využití některých alternativ, např. surogace. Nejběžnějším přídavkem je kukuřice, která je považována za dobrý zdroj sacharidů, ale je zde riziko kontaminace zrn. Výzkum a sledování všech kroků řetězce probíhá s cílem zlepšit nejen kvalitu sladu, ale také konkurenceschopnost na světovém trh

Assessment of Toxigenic Fusarium Species and Their Mycotoxins in Brewing Barley Grains

Fusarium species threaten yield and quality of cereals worldwide due to their ability to produce mycotoxins and cause plant diseases. Trichothecenes and zearalenone are the most economically significant mycotoxins and are of particular concern in barley, maize and wheat. For this reason, the aim of this study was to characterize the Fusarium isolates from brewing barley and to assess deoxynivalenol and zearalenone contamination in grains. Characterization of the Fusarium strains was carried out by the phylogeny based on two loci (EF-1&alpha; and RPB2). Mycotoxin detection and quantification were performed by LC-MS. The results show that Fusarium was the predominant genus. Phylogenetic study demonstrated that the majority of the strains clustered within the Fusarium sambucinum species complex followed by the Fusarium tricinctum species complex. The results revealed high incidence of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) contamination (90.6% and 87.5%, respectively). It was observed that 86% of the samples contaminated with ZEA were above the limits set by the EU and Brazilian regulations. These results may highlight the importance of controlling Fusarium toxins in barley, mainly because of its use in the brewing industry and the resistance of various mycotoxins to food processing treatments

From T-coalgebras to filter structures and transition systems

Abstract. For any set-endofunctor T: Set → Set there exists a largest subcartesian transformation µ to the filter functor F: Set → Set. Thus we can associate with every T-coalgebra A a certain filter-coalgebra AF. Precisely, when T weakly preserves preimages, µ is natural, and when T weakly preserves intersections, µ factors through the covariant powerset functor P, thus providing for every T-coalgebra A a Kripke structure AP. The paper characterizes weak preservation of preimages, of intersections, and preservation of both preimages and intersections by a functor T via the existence of transformations from T to either F or P. Moreover, we define for arbitrary T-coalgebras A a next-time operator ○A with associated modal operators ✷ and ✸ and relate their properties to weak limit preservation properties of T. In particular, for any T-coalgebra A there is a transition system K with ○A = ○K if and only if T weakly preserves intersections. 1

Antimicrobial materials properties based on ion-exchange 4A zeolite derivatives

Zeolites are nanoporous alumina silicates in a framework with cations, exhibiting ion-exchange properties with metal ions making them possible antimicrobial materials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of ion-exchanged zeolites and the toxic potential of these materials. Zeolite-Co2+ and Li+ exhibited the most effective inhibition on Staphylococcus aureus growth than in other microorganisms (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeroginosa) in low concentrations. Zeolite-Cu2+ presented higher zone of inhibition when tested against Candida albicans, while Zeolite-Zn2+ showed similar effectiveness among all the microorganisms. When ion-exchanged zeolites were used in effective concentrations to achieve antimicrobial activity, no alterations against bioindicators organisms as Artemia sp. and L. sativa were found and, in addition, they have non-significant result in terms of DNA cleavage activity. Zeolites have advantage of releasing slowly the metals loaded and this characteristic can to be considered promising as potential antimicrobial materials in concentrations safe for use