From the roadside to the shelves


RAQUEL DO CARMO SANTOS

O Professor Roberto Hermínio Moretti, from the Faculty of Food Engineering (FEA) at Unicamp, supervised a doctoral work for the production of sugarcane juice on an industrial scale. The research transcended its initial objectives: the researcher added juice from acidic fruits such as pineapple, lemon and passion fruit to the product, which could, without difficulty, also be bottled and sold in supermarkets. Having overcome the main obstacles regarding the stability and turbidity of the product, the researcher guarantees: the flavor of the juice is in no way inferior to the original.

One of the biggest problems with sugarcane juice offered by garapeiros is its ease of fermentation and the lack of adequate hygiene conditions, which favors the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms. Industrialization, according to the researcher, follows the standards established by the Ministries of Health and Agriculture. In general, after ten hours of extraction, the broth begins to ferment, even if placed in the refrigerator. "The ideal is immediate consumption", explains Moretti. As most of the mills are located close to roads and expressways, taking them home can pose health risks. Hence, the idea of ​​industrializing juice.

Benefits - The advantages of industrializing sugarcane juice are many, according to the researcher. Firstly, because the drink could be found at any time of the year, regardless of the harvest period. In the off-season, for example, the price increases significantly. In this case, the product could be industrialized at a time when there is greater availability and the price is lower.

The technology originated in the FEA Technology Laboratory has the advantage of going beyond the "sugarcane zone". Commercialization could be carried out in other Brazilian states that do not have sugarcane plantations, which makes the product inaccessible. In states such as Amazonas and Mato Grosso, for example, it is unfeasible to transport the raw material for the production of garapa, due to the high transportation cost. And why not also think about exports? Moretti remembers the similar effect that occurred with orange. "Today, places where there are no orange plantations, have access to the juice thanks to industrialization", he argues.

The work supervised by Moretti was developed in the doctoral research "Development of Processes for Stabilization of Sugarcane Juice Added with Acidic Fruit Juice" by agricultural engineer Patrícia Prati. To reach the conditions to keep the sugarcane juice on the shelves and with an average shelf life of six months, Patrícia went a long way and implemented several steps. Reaching the original opacity of the sugarcane juice required the engineer to apply clarification techniques. The objective was to leave the juice with adequate turbidity, and maintain physical stability, similar to that of garapa made with peeled sugarcane.

Components used for water treatment, such as polyaluminum chloride, were used in a second phase of research to treat the broth. Next, stabilizers and acids were added. In acidification, the acid contained in the fruits preferred by consumers of the drink was used in the process – pineapple, lemon and passion fruit. In the case of the natural product, citric acid, an artificial product, was added