Camu-Camu Flour Processed in Conventional Oven and Solar Dryer: Quality Product and Accessible Low Technology Products as an Opportunity to Family Agriculture

Abstract

The culture of camu-camu fruit is one of the most promising in the Amazon region; with proper industrialization the fruit could contribute to local food security, which raises excellent opportunities to further elaborate products with higher aggregate value to introduce to population living in natural producing areas. The aim of this research was to carry out a comparison of the agro-industrial and nutritional quality of fruit flour prototypes and residues from the processing of camu-camu dehydrated in a conventional electric oven and an alternative solar dryer, verifying the possibility of obtaining a standardized flour product with the techniques used. The camu-camu fruits was harvested in March of 2018 at Morena Lake, Boa Vista municipality, Roraima State, Brazil and, processed into flour at Embrapa Laboratories. Furthermore, an analysis of moisture, soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, color and N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe and B contents of the flour, were carried out and evaluated. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial scheme, evaluating three raw materials by two drying methods. The data was statistically validated using an analysis of variance, when there was statistical difference, the means of agroindustrial and elemental characteristics were compared by the T (0.05) and Tukey (0.05) tests. The main quality differences in the interaction between raw materials and drying methods are in moisture, soluble solids, titratable acidity, color and P, K and Ca contents. In general, the macro and microelement contents of the camu-camu flour dehydrated in a hot air oven with forced ventilation, and in a low-cost convection solar dehydrator presented the following order N > K > P > Ca > S > Mg > Mn > Fe > B > Zn > Cu. The evaluated camu-camu flours are presented as alternatives for the integral use of the fruit and processing residues, having satisfactory qualities, with the possibility of being used in agro-industrial products.