Renar João Bender

Non-thermal physical treatments on ready-to-eat produce are receiving extensive attention because chemicals are facing increasing consumer restrictions concerning the presence of residues with eventual negative health effects. The growing demand for fresh-like and handy foods contrasts with perishability and inherent sensitivity to handling procedures that may result in quality losses. The industry is required to address food security as the numbers of foodborne outbreaks are rising prompting increased attention of health authorities on food safety issues. Expansion of food supply chains has led to spiraling of health risks. To overcome the challenges to reduce microbial loads several disinfection alternatives were developed. Some have advantages over others in terms of quality traits maintenance, ease of application or generation of noxious waste.

White‐button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) are short‐lived commodities and preserving freshness and quality poses significant challenges. Considering active packaging as a possibility to extend mushroom shelf life, in the present work two alternative systems were evaluated for their after harvest effects on quality and control of microbiological contamination. Chitosan films, with or without turmeric, were used to layer polystyrene trays for mushroom storage at a temperature of 7°C ± 1.5°C for up to 17 days. At retrieval from storage, quality parameters, respiration rates, total polyphenols and psychrotrophic bacteria counts were determined. Chitosan layers resulted in significantly lower microbiological contamination and the inclusion of turmeric reduced in approximately 2 log CFU g⁻¹ microbial counts compared to the usual storage procedure. Chitosan and chitosan plus turmeric layers enhanced fresh mass losses, though quality traits, polyphenols and respiratory patterns were not influenced by any of the film layering's in the polystyrene trays. These findings suggest that storage trays layered with chitosan and turmeric effectively mitigate microbial contamination on white‐button mushrooms without compromising overall quality characteristics.

The worldwide databases PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for a systematic review for pesticide residues with subsequent meta-analysis using the software Open Meta-Analyst. Of the total of 29 selected papers, five identified active ingredients at concentrations posing a conceivable and unacceptable risk for pesticide residues. The average of active ingredients with an unacceptable risk was of 0.004 and a 95% confidence interval (C.I.) between 0.000–0.007. Papers originated from developed countries presented an average of 0.002 and a 95% C.I. of 0.002 and 0.006. Papers out of developing countries presented an average of 0.009 and a 95% C.I. ranging from 0.002 to 0.016. In papers that reported active ingredients at an unacceptable risk, the average was of 0.110 and a 95% C.I. between 0.050 and 0.171. Even though the averages might be considered as very low it is important to emphasize that only papers dealing with produce were scrutinized and other eatables and exposure routes to potential toxic substances were disregarded. Standardization of risk assessment procedures as well as gathering individual food consumption data inherent to each location are aspects that might allow more appropriate comparisons amongst studies.

Repeated presence of strawberries amongst produce with pesticide residues results in questionings related to the risks involved by its consumption. Deterministic and probabilistic risk assessment methods might be used depending on the available data. In the present study, both methods were used to estimate risks of pesticide intake by strawberry consumption. Strawberry samples along two years were analyzed via the multiresidue method. Results of active ingredients (a.i.) concentrations were organized and used for calculations for intake estimates. On the deterministic method, intake was calculated based on the data of a.i. concentration and consumption data coming from an online questionnaire and body weight between 5 and 70 kg. On the probabilistic method, the concentrations of a.i. and body weight of 60 kg were evaluated in two scenarios: a) consumption data from an online questionnaire or b) consumption data retrieved from Family Budget Survey of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. In the 62 strawberry samples, 38 a.i. were quantified and in 25 samples the residue analyses were considered satisfactory and 37 had an unsatisfactory outcome. In the deterministic approach, 23% of the a.i. had a calculated intake higher than the acceptable daily intake (ADI) and risk concentrated in body weights between 5 and 30 kg. The risk is low when considering a body weight of 60 kg. All a.i. tested in the first scenario of the probabilistic method pointed towards some possibility of intake being higher than the ADI. In the second scenario, only the a.i. procymidone exceeded the ADI.

Brazil is one of the largest banana producers and despite overall adequate climatic conditions to produce good quality fruit, postharvest handling procedures still are inappropriate. Only a few growers have degreening facilities at their groves. Mostly, bananas are prepared for the market by distributors. Two banana cultivars: Grande Naine (group AAA) and Prata Anã (AAB) were harvested from commercial groves and immediately submitted to degreening procedures in which three temperatures and four ethylene concentrations were evaluated. Bananas were degreened at 24 hour intervals at 13, 17 and 21 ºC with a commercial ethylene source (Banasil®) from which 12.5, 25, 50, and 100mL were placed in an ethylene generator. During the degreening process, ethylene concentrations in the degreening room were monitored for periods up to 6 hours. At the beginning of the degreening process and after three and five more days, epidermal color and pulp firmness were determined. Ethylene concentrations did not influence color changes and ripening processes of both cultivars. A maximum ethylene concentration (1,350 µL L-1) was determined in the degreening room when 100 mL of Banasil® was used at 21ºC. Even with the lowest Banasil® amount, a 90 µL L-1 ethylene peak was determined in the degreening room, enough to ripen adequately both cultivars. Degreening at 13 ºC delayed for two days the ripening of ‘Grande Naine’ bananas. ‘Grande Naine’ reached the fully ripe stage in four days while ‘Prata Anã’ completed ripening after three days. ‘Prata Anã’ bananas are more responsive to ethylene degreening than ‘Grande Naine’ bananas.

Strawberries are of high social and economic importance and the crop is mainly produced at small family enterprises. Strawberries are repetitively amongst products in which unauthorized pesticide residues are determined. The PARA program launched in Brazil by ANVISA has disclosed that many samples have residues above the maximum residue limit (MRL). The present study appraised the pesticide residues detected in strawberries produced in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and marketed at the CEASA / RS. Along the harvesting seasons of 2018 and 2019, 62 strawberry samples were collected at the CEASA-pavilion destined for growers from the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Each sample was tested for 238 active ingredients of pesticides. Of the 62 samples retrieved, 40% were considered satisfactory and 60% resulted as unsatisfactory. Of the 25 satisfactory samples, three samples did not present any residues, and 22 had residues below the MRL. Of the 37 samples with an unsatisfactory outcome, 11 had active ingredients not allowed (NA) for use on strawberries, 13 presented active ingredients above the MRL and 13 reports presented the sum of both: residues above the MRL and NA. Thirty five different active ingredients were detected in the samples summing up to a total of 303 detection events. The active ingredients detected most frequently were procymidone (66.13%); carbendazim (53.22%) and difenoconazole (50%).

Success in production and quality of gerbera flower stalks over time depends on environmental factors and on appropriate fertilization procedures. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the production and quality of flower stalks of gerberas as cut flower cultivated for 28 months (with 25 months of harvest) in a pine bark-based substrate supplemented with different doses of nitrogen and calcium. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse. Three doses of nitrogen (N) (0.07 g, 0.15 g and 0.20 g L-1 substrate) and three doses of calcium (Ca) (0.02 g, 0.03 g and 0.04 g L-1 substrate) were applied every 15 days along the cultivation period. The control was considered an additional treatment to which neither N nor Ca was supplemented to the plants in the pots. Highest flower yields and best flower quality were obtained in months in which the temperatures were in the range of 20 ºC to 25 ºC. The highest number of floral stalks and the largest diameter of the capitulum had a significant quadratic adjustment according to N doses. The maximum values were obtained with 0.14 g of N L-1 substrate. Whereas for Ca fertilization, a significant positive linear adjustment was determined, i.e., the highest values were obtained with the highest dose (0.04 g Ca L-1 substrate). There was a monthly variation in the yield and quality of cut gerberas grown in commercial substrate based on pine bark regardless of the different doses of nitrogen and calcium used in the experiment.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of zinc (ZnO) and titanium (TiO2) oxides, added to carnauba wax emulsions, on the incidence of citrus black spot (CBS) caused by Phyllosticta citricarpa and, consequently, on tangerine quality. Wax emulsions blended with ZnO or TiO2 were sprayed up to concentrations of 8% on late-season tangerine cultivars. Three experiments were carried out in a randomized complete four-block design, with two control treatments – one with the application of only the carnauba wax emulsion and the other without the application of the emulsion. The spraying of ZnO and TiO2 reduced the incidence of the disease on the harvested fruit; however, the increase in the concentrations of the oxides did not improve CBS control. Two consecutive applications of the oxides reduced the photosynthetic activity of the plants, negatively affecting yield, and caused damage to fruit peel. Tangerines infected artificially with 105 conidia mL-1 of P. citricarpa, before or after the sprayings of the photoprotective films, showed a reduced CBS incidence. The treatments with the application of only carnauba wax do not differ from those with films combined with ZnO and TiO2 regarding the control of CBS incidence. The addition of inorganic oxides to the carnauba films limits the photosynthetic activity and reduces the yield of the plants, besides damaging the visual quality of the tangerines.

Mango flavor is dependent on cultivar characteristics and postharvest handling procedures. Mangoes harvested with the ripening metabolism initiated develop better flavor than mangoes harvested at the mature-green stage. Different cultivars were harvested at both ripeness stages and evaluated to determine the effect of fruit ripeness, storage temperature and atmosphere on the volatiles present in aroma profiles. Mangoes of the cultivars Haden, Keitt and Tommy Atkins at distinct ripeness stages were stored in controlled atmospheres (CA) with 2, 5 or 21 kPa O2 plus 0, 10 or 25 kPa CO2 at 5, 8, 12 or 15 °C. Terpene concentrations of mangoes stored in air were higher than the concentrations in mangoes stored in CA. The sesquiterpene α-copaene did not present recognizable peaks in almost all elusion sequences. The same result was observed with the monoterpene β-pinene in cv. Haden and cv. Keitt mangoes while in ‘Tommy Atkins’ fruit β-pinene concentrations were below 1.06 µL.L-1. Ethanol and acetaldehyde concentrations were significantly higher in mangoes from 2 kPa O2 storage than those from air storage or the other CA treatments. Terpene synthesis in air or CA storage in all cultivars varied significantly, preventing generalizations as to what storage conditions favor or limit aroma components elution.

Vegetative tissue analyses might help to diagnose nutritional status of a crop. Foliage diagnosis is an effective method to set up balanced fertilization procedures. The current work aims to evaluate nutrient contents of two gerbera leaf sampling periods as a cut flower cultivated in pots with different doses of nitrogen (N) and calcium (Ca) under greenhouse conditions. The experiment was carried out in a protected environment, shelter type, in a container containing substrate in a 3x3+1 factorial scheme. Three doses of N (0.07, 0.15 or 0.2 g L-1) or three doses of Ca (0.02, 0.03 or 0.04 g L-1) were applied every 15 days. Control plants did receive neither N nor Ca. The substrate was analyzed before and after cultivation, and at the end of production years, as well as completely expanded leaves were collected for nutrient analyses. There was not significant interaction between N and Ca doses. Regarding the sampling period or doses of N and Ca, the determined macronutrient concentrations were in the following order of N>K>Ca>P>S>Mg. The micronutrient concentrations were in the following order of Fe>Mn>B>Zn>Cu. Except for K, all the other nutrient concentrations were in the recommended range for gerberas production.