Physicochemical and microbiological assessment of frozen fruit pulps marketed in Santarém-PA

Abstract The present study aimed to evaluate the physical-chemical, microbiological parameters, and antioxidant activity of fruit pulps produced and marketed in Santarém-PA. Three manufacturers of frozen fruit pulp of acerola (Malpighia emarginata), cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum), and passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) were analyzed, in order to verify their compliance to the Standards and Identity and Quality Standards (PIQ's) established by Brazilian legislation. The analyzed parameters were pH, titratable total acidity, soluble solids, total solids, ash and ascorbic acid; determination of the total polyphenol content, and antioxidant activity by the DPPH method, and microbiological analyzes for mold and yeast, fecal coliforms and Salmonella sp. The means of the treatments were compared by the Tukey test, adopting the 95% level of significance. The results showed that only the pH parameter was in accordance with the legislation. After analysis of titratable total acidity and total solids, it was possible to verify that not all the samples met the values established by the legislation. The analysis of total polyphenols and the antioxidant activity revealed that the acerola pulp was featured by the expressive content of these components, being considered as a good source of antioxidant substances. The results of the microbiological analyzes showed that all the samples were in accordance with the legislation in force. The variations reported in the majority of the analyzes show the necessity of the standardization of the productive processes of the pulps.摘要 本研究旨在评估巴西帕拉州圣塔伦市（Santarém-PA）生产并销售的水果果泥的理化、微生物学参数及抗氧化活性。本研究选取三家生产商所产的针叶樱桃（acerola，Malpighia emarginata）、古布阿苏果（cupuaçu，Theobroma grandiflorum）与百香果（passion fruit，Passiflora edulis）冷冻果泥进行分析，以验证其是否符合巴西立法规定的标准与身份质量标准（Identity and Quality Standards，PIQ）。本次分析的参数包括pH值、可滴定总酸度、可溶性固形物、总固形物、灰分与抗坏血酸；总多酚含量测定、采用DPPH法测定抗氧化活性，以及针对霉菌与酵母菌、粪大肠菌群和沙门氏菌（Salmonella sp.）的微生物学检测。研究采用Tukey检验对各组处理均值进行比较，显著性水平设定为95%。结果显示，仅pH值参数符合立法要求。经可滴定总酸度与总固形物分析后可确认，并非所有样品均达到立法规定的限值。总多酚与抗氧化活性分析表明，针叶樱桃果泥中上述成分含量丰富，可作为抗氧化物质的优质来源。微生物学检测结果显示，所有样品均符合现行立法要求。多数检测项目中存在的变异情况表明，需对果泥的生产流程进行标准化处理。