Organic Vegetables Quality Arising from the Brazilian Family-Run Farm

Abstract

The present study has its aim to evaluate the different dimensions of organic vegetables quality from the Brazilian family-run farm, especially the evaluation of composition, antioxidant activity, microbiological characteristics and pesticide residues. There were evaluated carrot, broccoli, kale and white cabbage grown by organic farmers in the highlander region of Rio de Janeiro state. There were determined humidity, lipids grade, total protein content, mineral residues (ashes), soluble and insoluble fibers, soluble solids, total acidity, pH, and pesticide residues. The antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical removal. Among the analyzed vegetables, the effectiveness of the antioxidant capacity was obtained, in decreasing order, by broccoli, kale, white cabbage and carrot. According to the microbiological parameter, evaluated vegetables have shown satisfactory sanitary quality. Pesticide residues were not found above the detection limit for both authorized and unauthorized analyzed crops.

Share and Cite:

Silva, T. , Ferreira, V. , Couto, S. and Srur, A. (2014) Organic Vegetables Quality Arising from the Brazilian Family-Run Farm. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 5, 1538-1544. doi: 10.4236/fns.2014.515166.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Brazil Health Ministry (2005) Secretary of Attention to Health. General Coordination of Feeding and Nutrition Policy. Dietary Guide for Brazilian Population: Motivating Health Nutrition, Sequence A, Technical Standards and Manuals, 236.
[2] IBGE. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (2011) Brazilian Household Budget Survey 2008-2009: Nutritional Evaluation of Home Food Availability in Brazil/IBGE. Coordination of Work and Income, Rio de Janeiro, 54.
[3] IBGE. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (2011) Brazilian Household Budget Survey 2008-2009: Analysis of Personal Food Consumption in Brazil/IBGE. Coordination of Work and Income, Rio de Janeiro, 150.
[4] Faller, A.L.K. and Fialho, E. (2009) The Antioxidant Capacity and Polyphenol Content of Organic and Conventional Retail Vegetables after Domestic Cooking. Food Research International, 42, 210-215.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2008.10.009
[5] Brazil, National Health Surveillance Agency (2010) General Toxicological Management. Program of Pesticides Residues Analysis in Aliments (PARA)—Report of Activities in 2009, Brasília, 22 June 2010.
[6] Association of Official Analytical Chemists (1998) Official Methods of Analysis. Washington DC.
[7] Rufino, M.S.S., Alves, R.E., Brito, E.S., Pérez-Jiménez, J., Saura-Calixto, F. and Mancini-Filho, J. (2010) Bioactive Compounds Antioxidant Capacities of 18 Non-Traditional Tropical Fruits from Brazil. Food Chemistry, 121, 996-1002.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.01.037
[8] Sánchez-Moreno, C., Larrauri, J.A. and Saura-Calixto, F. (1998) A Procedure to Measure the Antiradical Efficiency of Polyphenols. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 76, 270-276.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0010(199802)76:2<270::AID-JSFA945>3.0.CO;2-9
[9] Brand-Williams, W., Cuvelier, M.E. and Berset, C. (1995) Use of Free Radical Method to Evaluate Antioxidant Activity. LWT—Food Science and Technology, 28, 25-30.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0023-6438(95)80008-5
[10] American Public Health Association (2002) Compendium of Methods for the Microbiological Examination of Foods. 4th Edition, Washington DC.
[11] Brazil, National Health Surveillance Agency (2001) Technical Regulations about Microbiological Standards for Foods. Health Ministry, Brasilia.
[12] General Inspectorate for Health Protection (1996) Analytical Methods for Pesticide Residues in Foodstuffs. 6th Edition, Ministry of Health Welfare and Sport, The Netherlands.
[13] Lehotay, S.J. (2004) Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) Approach for Determining Pesticide Residues. In: Vidal Martinez, J.L. and Garrido Frenich, A., Eds., Pesticide Analysis in Methods in Biotechnology, Humana Press, USA.
[14] Brazil, Brazilian Sanitary Surveillance Agency (2012) Monographs of Pesticides.
http://portal.anvisa.gov.br/wps/portal/anvisa/home/agrotoxicotoxicologia/ monografiasdeagrotóxicos
[15] Bourn, D. and Prescott, J. (2002) A Comparison of the Nutritional Value, Sensory Qualities, and Food Safety of Organically and Conventionally Produced Foods. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 42, 1-34.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10408690290825439
[16] Dangour, A.D., Dodhia, S.K., Hayter, A., Allen, E., Lock, K. and Uauy, R. (2009) Nutritional Quality of Organic Foods: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 90, 680-685.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2009.28041
[17] Dangour, A.D., Dodhia, S.K., Hayter, A., Allen, E., Lock, K. and Uauy, R. (2010) Nutrition-Related Health Effects of Organic Foods: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 92, 203-210.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2010.29269
[18] Arbos, K.A., de Freitas, R.J.S., Sterz, S.C. and Dornas, M.F. (2010) Antioxidant Activity and Total Phenolic Contents in Organic and Conventional Vegetables. Food Science and Technology, 30, 501-506.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0101-20612010000200031
[19] Prior, R.L., Wu, X. and Schaich, K. (2005) Standardized Methods for the Determination of Antioxidant Capacity and Phenolics in Foods and Dietary Supplements. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53, 4290-4302.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf0502698
[20] Santos, G.C. and Monteiro, M. (2004) Organic System of Food Production. Alimentos e Nutrição Araraquara, 15, 73-86.
[21] Mukherjee, P.A., Speh, D., Dyck, E. and Diez-Gonzalez, F. (2004) Preharvest Evaluation of Coliforms, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Escherichia coli 0157:H7 in Organic and Conventional Produce Grown by Minnesota Farmers. Journal of Food Protection, 67, 894-900.
[22] Altieri, M. (2002) Agroecology: Scientific Bases for Sustainable Agriculture. Agropecuaria, Gaiba.
[23] Caporal, F.R. and Costabeber, J.A. (2004) Agroecology: Some Concepts and Principals. MDA/SAF/DATER-IICA, Brasília, 24.
[24] Jardim, A.N.O. and Caldas, E.D. (2009) Chemical Dietary Exposure and the Risks to Human Health. Quimica Nova, 32, 1898-1909. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-40422009000700036
[25] Ferreira, S.M.R., de Freitas, R.J.S., Karkle, E.N.L., Quadros, D.A., Tullio, L.T. and Lima, J.J (2010) Quality of Tomato Cultivated in the Organic and Conventional Cropping Systems. Food Science and Technology, 30, 224-230.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0101-20612010000100033
[26] de Ponti, T., Rijk, B. and van Ittersum, M.K. (2012) The Crop Yield Gap between Organic and Conventional Agriculture. Agricultural Systems, 108, 1-9.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2011.12.004

Copyright © 2023 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.