Desenvolvimento de barra alimentícia adicionada de café: estudo de marketing

The consumption of snack bars is based especially on the demand for practical and nutritious food. Coffee is highlighted for being appreciated and consumed worldwide, presenting elevated antioxidant activity, in addition to peculiar sensorial attributes. Therefore, it has great potential for use in many formulations. However, the success in the acceptance of a new product also derives from adequate marketing strategies. In this context, the present study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of introducing to the market a snack bar added with coffee, by means of sensorial acceptance and purchase intent of the consumers, in addition to identifying the best concept and the possible market segments. This work was a qualitative, by means of a focus group (content analysis), and quantitative research, by means of sensorial analysis and structures questionnaires (descriptive – frequency distribution, arithmetic mean, crosstabs and t test – and multivariate – cluster and discriminate analysis - statistical techniques). With the results, we showed that the main aspects considered by the consumers regarding the snack bar added with coffee. According to the qualitative evaluation, the consumer prefers packaging with matte colors ranging in the tones related to the coffee grain. The analysis of the quantitative data allows us to infer that the evaluations of the product regarding overall impression, purchase intent, preference and expectation before and after consuming the product are better for packaging containing the information “special coffee flavor – 100% arabic”. Regarding market segment, it was possible to conclude that, of the three extracted groups, the group of “healthy and conscious consumers” was the segment with higher potential for exploitation regarding purchase and consumption of the snack bar added with coffee.

Solubilização de fontes alternativas de potássio pelos ácidos húmicos, cítrico e casca de café

This study was to evaluate the solubility of nepheline syenite rocks and glauconite as alternative sources of K by organic humic acid arrays, citrus and coffee pods at various times from 0 to 180 days of incubation. The experiment was conducted in the fertility laboratory in the Department of Soil Science at the Federal University of Lavras in a completely randomized design with 90 treatments and 3 replications. The treatments were arranged in a factorial arrangement (2 x 3 x 7 + 3), 2 nepheline syenite rocks and glauconite incubated with water and 3 matrix organic humic acid, citric acid and coffee husk in six different incubation times of 0, 7, 15, 30, 75, 120 and 180 days, incubation were performed with the three above-mentioned organic matrix in increasing doses of 0, 1, 2, 5 and 10% humic acids and citric 0, 5, 10 20 and 40% for coffee husk. We evaluated the K2O content by different extractants soluble in 2% citric acid and water all treatments at all incubation times quoted above. Incubation and the application of organic matrix rocks nepheline syenite and generally glauconite provided a significant increase in solubility of K of the rocks studied in this work. Among the organic matrix has been observed that the coffee husk which provided the greatest release of K2O in both rocks mainly into the extractor 2% citric acid showed that the most efficient extraction K2O in all treatments.

Ação antioxidante da água catódica: estudos preliminares em sementes de café

Coffee seeds have limitations regarding to its conservation because of their sensitivity to desiccation and storage behavior. The establishment of a methodology for seed storage is difficult due to its deterioration. Deterioration can enhance the production of reactive oxygen species and cause lethal oxidative damage to plant tissues. The damage caused by harmful levels of free radicals can be softened by the action of endogenous or exogenous antioxidants. Recent research shows new antioxidative protection technologies, being cathodic protection a promising technique with relevant results in other recalcitrant species and even in other living organisms. Thus, the aim of this work was to verify the antioxidant effect of cathodic water in Coffea arabica L. seeds with the purpose of investigating a new technology to improve seed quality. The study was conducted at the Central Seed Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, at the Federal University of Lavras. Coffea arabica L. seeds were used. The study was conducted in two stages, in the first a preliminary analysis of the use of cathodic water was carried out in batches with different levels of quality. In the second it was evaluated the effect of light and of the imbibition period of the seeds in cathodic water. The seeds were immersed in distilled water and in cathodic water for eight distinct soaking periods, in absence and presence of light and then evaluated by physiological tests. It can be concluded that cathodic water can positively influence the physiological performance of the coffee seeds with poor quality, especially when embedded during periods between 4.5 to 7.5 hours in the absence of light.

Rotulagem como mecanismo de compartilhamento de informações com agentes da cadeia produtiva do café

The Agroindustrial System coffee after decades of state regulation has become a decentralized economic activity. This situation compelled most of the actors in the production chain to resort to self r egulatory systems offered by certification agencies, which have specific criteria and procedures. However the diversity criteria of the agencies do not offer resources able to ensure efficient management of the governance structure. There is a need to reduce the asymmetry of information, which is possible through the sharing of data compatible with the production tracking feature. This work is supported in this contextualized problem, based on Transaction Cost Theory and the use of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The first part of the work seeks to know the procedures required by leading regulatory agencies in Brazil, with perspective to emphasize the similarities and compatibilities between them, which was reached after analysis of standards and comparison of similarities. Next is registered the operation and the coffee traceability of the structure, in order to identify, through observation, documental and bibliographical analysis, the systems in place and traceable information in line with the recommendations of the coffee certification. Finally, he sought to create a labeling model that allows to generate and share information about the product from the field to the sale for consumption. The information obtained in the previous steps were the basis for data collection with the production chain agents through a structured questionnaire administered to 618 agents of the production chain, whose answers were treated by multivariate methods of statistical analysis. The results showed that actors in the chain are in favor of inclusion and sharing information related to rural production and economic and environmental data. This knowledge enabled develop a labeling model where the information sharing agents is an efficient mechanism to mitigate the governance problems identified.

Influência do etileno na regulação do florescimento de Coffea arabica L.

Coffee is one of the most valuable exported agricultural product worldwide as well as the second most traded commodity after oil. This crop represents a source of employment and considerably accounts for the revenue of the country, besides its undeniable importance for local and world socioeconomical scenery. The quality of the coffee drink is directly related to the fruit ripening stage, which is found in different stages at harvesting due to the sequential flowering, increasing costs with the production and generating a lower-quality beverage. The asynchronous flowering of the coffee tree comes from the uneven development of buds, which can be influenced by environmental factors, taking into account that the anthesis takes place after a water deficit period, followed by precipitation. Changes in the hormone balance have been observed after water deficit and rehydration cycles, and such oscillation on the water status of the plant increased the level of ethylene in some species. This finding led to the association between the requirements at the flowering stage of the coffee tree and the involvement of the ethylene in promoting anthesis. The application of 1- MCP (ethylene action inhibitor) triggered the anthesis in coffee trees. And, in coffee seedlings in greenhouse conditions after a period of water shortage followed by irrigation, the profile of gene expression of the biosynthesis route and signaling of ethylene are changed in leaves and roots. The increased levels of the ethylene precursor (ACC) in roots throughout the dry season and the transportation of this compound into shoots may be the signal to trigger the anthesis in coffee tree after rehydration. Thus, in order to better understand the role of the ethylene in regulation of flowering, we analyzed the effects of the exogenous application of 1-MCP in different physiological characteristics and in the expression of genes related to the ethylene biosynthesis and signaling pathways in coffee leaves and bud from plants under field conditions. The evaluations and tissue sampling were carried out in different times treatments implementation: T1 – control, T2 – 1-MCP+Break-Thru, and T3 – Break-Thru. There was influence of 1-MCP and Break-Thru in gas exchange parameters and of 1-MCP contributed to the increase in relative water content. RT-qPCR analyses showed a different behavior in relation to the profile of gene expression in leaves and buds analyzed in the present study (CaACS1 – like, CaACO1 – like, CaACO4 – like, CaETR4 – like) and the expression levels were changed a few hours (2h) after applying the products. However, there was flowering only in plants treated with 1-MCP, in the absence of rain and irrigation.