Diploma thesis is focused on cocoa beans volatile compounds from various region (Tanzania, Haiti, Ecuador, Madagascar and Peru) and chocolate bars made of them. The main aim was to judge diferences between samples according to geographycal origin. At the same time, samples of chocolates with different content of cocoa solids (50%, 70% „organic“, 70%, 78%, 90%) and a sample of cocoa powder from the common market were analyzed. Volatiles were identified and semiquantified by HS-SPME-GC-MS. A total of 86 volatile substances were identified, they were divided into 7 groups according to the nature of the odor: fruit tones (17), nut and chocolate (16), astringent and sour (12), unspecified (14), sweet nad honey (10), earthy (9) and floral (8). The data were transformed into a 2D graph by analyzing the main component according to selected distinguishing varibles. The difference in the volatile substances of cocoa beans depending on the geographical origin were confirmed using principal component analysis.

Chocolate is one of the most important products for the food industry, being of economic interest all over the world. The cocoa quality depends directly on the post-harvest processing, being the cocoa-pulp fermentation a crucial step for chocolate quality development. The aim of this work was to study the diversity of aroma-producing yeasts associated with cocoa beans fermentation and to select suitable yeast starter culture to cocoa flavor modulation. A total of 39 cocoa-derived yeast isolates were screened for their capacity to produce volatile aroma compounds in a cocoa pulp simulation medium. The seven highest aroma-producing yeasts were identified by ITS-rRNA gene sequencing as belonging to Pichia kudriavzevii, in spite of exhibiting different metabolic profiles. A computer-assisted analysis of rep-PCR genomic fingerprints of Pichia kudriavzevii strains clearly differentiated the upper aroma-forming yeast strains (G1 group; P. kudriavzevii LPB06 and P. kudriavzevii LPB07) from the other strains (G2 group). This demonstrates the potential of rep-PCR technique as a promising genotypic tool for rapid and reliable speciation of aromatic yeast strains. In the second stage of this study, two strains with superior aroma production, namely P. kudriavzevii LPB06 and P. kudriavzevii LPB07, were used in cocoa beans fermentation at laboratory scale. They were able to establish an accelerated fermentation process with efficient yeast growth, sugars consumption and ethanol formation compared to the spontaneous process. The resulting cocoa beans were analyzed by diverse chemical analysis methods, including SPME-GC/MS, FTIR spectroscopy and metal and colorimetric analysis. All together, the results indicated that inoculated fermentations generated cocoa beans with better color development and richer aroma composition, suggesting that cocoa-associated yeast diversity at strain level can be exploited for flavor modulation of cocoa beans. / Atualmente, o chocolate é um dos produtos mais importantes para a indústria de alimentos, sendo de interesse econômico em todo o mundo. A qualidade do cacau depende diretamente do processamento pós-colheita, sendo a fermentação da polpa um passo crucial para o desenvolvimento da qualidade do chocolate. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a diversidade de leveduras aromáticas associadas à fermentação de cacau e selecionar uma cultura iniciadora com potencial para modular o flavor de chocolate. Um total de 39 leveduras foram isoladas e caracterizadas quanto à formação de compostos aromáticos. As sete melhores produtoras foram identificadas através do sequenciamento do gene ITS-rRNA como Pichia kudriavzevii, apesar de apresentarem diferentes perfis metabólicos. Análise de impressões digitais (fingerprints) dos isolados pela técnica de rep-PCR claramente distinguiu as cepas com maior produção de compostos aromáticos, demonstrando o potencial desta técnica como uma ferramenta para rápida e confiável seleção de leveduras. Na segunda etapa deste estudo, duas cepas com superior formação de aroma (P. kudriavzevii LPB06 e P. kudriavzevii LPB07) foram testadas como culturas iniciadoras para fermentações de cacau em escala laboratorial. Estas duas cepas foram capazes de estabelecer um acelerado processo fermentativo, com eficiente consumo de açúcares e formação de etanol, em comparação ao método natural. As amêndoas de cacau resultantes destes processos foram analisadas por diferentes métodos químicos, incluindo SPME-GC/MS, espectroscopia FTIR e análises de metal e calorimetria. Os resultados indicaram que as fermentações inoculadas desenvolveram amêndoas de cacau com melhor cor e composição de aroma, sugerindo que a diversidade de levedura em fermentações de cacau pode ser explorada para a modulação do flavor de chocolate.

Thesis (M.S.)--Pennsylvania State University, 1981. / Includes bibliographical references.

The theoretical part of the diploma thesis titled "The Effect of Raw Materials and Technology on the Sensory Quality of Chocolate" describes the commodity and the related legislation, the raw materials used for the production of chocolate, the substitutes for some basic raw materials, and the production procedures. The theoretical part also describes the significance of chocolate for human nutrition and analyses the defects that may occur in chocolate. The objective of the practical part is to ascertain the opinions of a selected group of consumers on the selected sorts of chocolates. The results are divided into two parts. In the first part I carried out a collective evaluation (men and women together), and in the second part I evaluated the results separately for each gender (men separately from women) in order to find out any differences in the sensory evaluation of this commodity between the groups. The evaluators' preferences between three sorts of dark chocolates of the same brand with a different cocoa quantity were tested and evaluated by means of a ranking test. The preferences between two sorts of dark chocolates with orange flavour produced by two different producers were evaluated by means of a pair test. I also carried out and evaluated a questionnaire survey aimed at ascertaining the liking for various sorts of chocolates with different composition.

Orientadores: Juliana Azevedo Lima Pallone, Priscilla Efraim / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T22:17:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Hashimoto_JulianaCampos_D.pdf: 1464157 bytes, checksum: dc1a53f725dfb7e2dbc0a615838c0c73 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: O desenvolvimento da cacauicultura no Brasil apresenta vários desafios no que se refere ao reconhecimento da qualidade e padronização da produção. Dois aspectos relevantes relacionados a essas dificuldades foram abordados nesta pesquisa. O primeiro aspecto trata da falta de informação referente à composição química das amêndoas de cacau produzidas em diferentes estados brasileiros e às características sensoriais dos produtos derivados. A este respeito, amostras de diferentes regiões produtoras (Bahia-BA, Pará-PA, Rondônia-RO e Costa do Marfim-CM) foram analisadas quanto a parâmetros físicos e químicos relevantes para a qualidade desta matéria prima, incluindo-se: número de amêndoas em 100 g, prova de corte, porcentagem de casca, pH, acidez, teores de umidade, lipídios, proteína, compostos fenólicos totais, teobromina e cafeína. A avaliação física das amêndoas de cacau por meio da prova de corte permitiu concluir que todas as amostras apresentaram padrão comercial satisfatório, porém, evidenciou-se a falta de padronização na etapa de pré-processamento. Diferenças significativas em relação à umidade, acidez, compostos fenólicos totais, teobromina e cafeína foram verificadas, as quais podem afetar diretamente a qualidade dos produtos derivados. A avaliação sensorial de chocolates elaborados a partir das amêndoas de origens distintas (BA, PA, RO, CM e Espírito Santo-ES) mostrou diferenças significativas entre as amostras, as quais foram percebidas tanto pelo painel sensorial treinado quanto pelo grupo de consumidores. As amostras de chocolates BA e CM mostraram diferenças importantes no perfil sensorial, enquanto as amostras RO e PA apresentaram similaridades e características intermediárias em relação às demais. Quanto à aceitação global, pequenas diferenças foram observadas, sendo que a amostra PA apresentou valor médio superior ao do chocolate BA, provavelmente devido à maior intensidade dos gostos ácido e amargo na amostra BA. O segundo aspecto abordado neste estudo trata da falta de métodos analíticos rápidos e objetivos para a avaliação da qualidade de amêndoas de cacau. Portanto, os dados das análises físico-químicas das 81 amostras de amêndoas de cacau obtidos na primeira etapa da pesquisa foram utilizados para a construção de modelos de calibração multivariada por meio da correlação com os espectros de reflectância difusa medidos na região do infravermelho próximo (10000-4000 cm-1). Nove modelos de regressão por Quadrados Mínimos Parciais foram desenvolvidos para a previsão de diversos parâmetros de composição química (umidade, porcentagem de casca, pH, acidez, lipídios, proteínas, compostos fenólicos totais, concentração de teobromina e cafeína) pela análise direta das amostras moídas e peneiradas, sem preparo adicional e geração de resíduos. Com exceção da concentração de cafeína, todos os parâmetros foram previstos com erros relativos médios menores que 10,2%, os quais são aceitáveis quando comparados aos coeficientes de variação dos métodos de referência usualmente utilizados. Dessa forma, os resultados obtidos demonstraram que o emprego da Espectroscopia no Infravermelho Próximo, aliada a quimiometria, é viável e indicado para o controle de qualidade de amêndoas de cacau em diversas etapas da cadeia produtiva / Abstract: The development of cocoa culture in Brazil presents several challenges with respect to recognition of the quality and production standardization. Two important aspects related to these difficulties were addressed in this study. The first aspect is the lack of information on the chemical composition of cocoa beans produced in different Brazilian states and sensory characteristics of derivatives. In this regard, samples from different producing regions (Bahia-BA, Pará-PA, Rondônia-RO and the Ivory Coast-CM) were analyzed for physical and chemical parameters relevant to the overall quality of this raw material, which included: bean count, cut test, pH, acidity and shell, moisture, total lipid, protein, phenolic compounds, theobromine and caffeine contents. Physical evaluation of cocoa beans by means of the cut test showed that all samples presented satisfactory commercial standard, however, revealed a lack of standardization in the post-harvesting practices. Significant differences in moisture, acidity, total phenolic compounds, theobromine and caffeine were found, which can directly affect the quality of derivatives. The sensory evaluation of chocolates manufactured with cocoa beans from different origins (BA, PA, RO, CM and Espírito Santo-ES) showed significant differences between the samples, which were identified by both the trained sensory panel as the consumers. BA and CM chocolate samples showed important differences in the sensory profile, while the RO and PA samples presented similarities and intermediate characteristics in relation to the others. The overall acceptance presented little differences with the PA chocolate scored higher than the BA chocolate, probably due to the more intense acidic and bitter tastes in the BA sample. The second subject discussed in this study is the unavailability of rapid and objective analytical methods for assessing the quality of cocoa beans. For this, the physicochemical data of 81 cocoa bean samples acquired in the first stage of this research, were used for the construction of multivariate calibration models by correlation with diffuse reflectance spectra measured in the near infrared region (10000-4000 cm-1). Nine Partial Least Squares regression models were developed allowing the prediction of various chemical parameters (moisture, pH, acidity, total lipids, protein, shell content, total phenolic compounds, concentration of theobromine and caffeine) through direct analysis of samples milled and sieved without any additional preparation. With the exception of caffeine concentration, all of the parameters were predicted with relative errors smaller than an average of 10.2%, which is acceptable when compared to the coefficients of variation of the reference methods usually used. Thus, the results obtained demonstrate that the use of NIR in conjunction with chemometrics is feasible and recommended for the quality control of cocoa beans in various stages of the production chain / Doutorado / Ciência de Alimentos / Doutora em Ciência de Alimentos

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo principal determinar los factores que influyen en la internacionalización de empresas pymes exportadoras de la selva peruana de cacao en grano, entre el periodo 2009 al 2019, puesto que el sector cacaotero en los últimos años ha presentado un alto crecimiento a nivel nacional y la presente investigación se centra en encontrar los factores que son fundamentales para que las pymes ingresen su producto al mercado exterior. Dentro de esta investigación se aplicaron encuestas en escala de Likert a una muestra de 31 empresas pymes exportadoras de la selva peruana de cacao en grano, a fin de obtener resultados a través del método cuantitativo. En base a la metodología, la presente investigación tiene un diseño descriptivo no experimental a nivel correlacional con enfoque cuantitativo. La información se analizó en el programa SPSS con la prueba de regresión logística. Como resultado, se obtuvo que cinco de las diez variables analizadas son significativas para la internacionalización de las pymes exportadoras de la selva peruana del cacao en grano. / The main objective of this research is to determine the factors that influence the internationalization of exporting SMEs of the Peruvian rainforest of cocoa beans, between the period 2009 to 2019, since the cocoa sector in recent years has presented a very high growth and this research focuses on finding the factors that are essential for small and medium-sized companies to enter their product on the foreign market. Within this research, Likert scale surveys were applied to a sample of 31 exporting SMEs from the Peruvian rainforest of cocoa beans, in order to obtain results through the quantitative method. Based on the methodology, this research has a descriptive non-experimental design at a correlational level with a quantitative approach. The information was analyzed in the SPSS program with the logistic regression test. As a result, it was obtained that five of the ten variables analyzed are significant for the internationalization of exporting SMEs from the Peruvian rainforest of cocoa beans. / Tesis