Cacao quality index for cacao agroecosystems in Bahia, Brazil

Brazil is increasingly committed to developing research on the quality of cacao. The objective of this work was to develop a new Cacao Quality Index (CQI) methodology with cacao industry, chocolate flavor, human health and food safety functions, and to show its results in different cacao agroecosyst...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Quintino Reis de Araujo, Guilherme Amorim Homem de Abreu Loureiro, Virupax Chanabasappa Baligar, Dario Ahnert, José Claudio Faria, Raul René Valle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019-01-01
Series:International Journal of Food Properties
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2019.1675691
Description
Summary:Brazil is increasingly committed to developing research on the quality of cacao. The objective of this work was to develop a new Cacao Quality Index (CQI) methodology with cacao industry, chocolate flavor, human health and food safety functions, and to show its results in different cacao agroecosystems from the humid region of Bahia. The typical Dystrophic Red-Yellow Argisol, in the cabruca cropping system with 35 shade trees per hectare, reached the highest CQI score. The lowest score obtained from the quality index cacao corresponded to the site characterized by the abrupt Dystrophic Red-Yellow Argisol, in the cabruca cropping system with 60 shade trees per hectare. All cropping sites obtained CQI values between 0.54 and 0.69 and were therefore classified as a regular index. The primary indicators that determined the differences between the highest and lowest CQI score were proteins, total free amino acids, simple carbohydrates (sucrose, fructose and glucose), total acidity, cadmium and barium.
ISSN:1094-2912
1532-2386