a b s t r a c tIn recent years, there has been increasing fish consumption in Brazil, largely due to the popularity of Japanese cuisine. No study, however, has previously assessed the presence of inorganic contaminants in species used in the preparation of Japanese food. In this paper, we determined total arsenic, cadmium, chromium, total mercury, and lead contents in 82 fish samples of Tuna (Thunnus thynnus), Porgy (Pagrus pagrus), Snook (Centropomus sp.), and Salmon (Salmo salar) species marketed in São Paulo (Brazil). Samples were mineralized in HNO 3 /H 2 O 2 for As, Cd, Cr and Pb, and in HNO 3 /H 2 SO 4 /V 2 O 5 for Hg. Inorganic contaminants were determined after the validation of the methodology using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP OES); and for Hg, an ICP-coupled hydride generator was used. Concentration ranges for elements analyzed in mg kg À1 (wet base) were as follows: Total As (0.11e10.82); Cd (0.005e0.047); Cr (0.008e0.259); Pb (0.026e0.481); and total Hg (0.0077e0.9681). As and Cr levels exceeded the maximum limits allowed by the Brazilian law (1 and 0.1 mg kg À1 ) in 51.2 and 7.3% of the total samples studied, respectively. The most contaminated species were porgy (As ¼ 95% and Cr ¼ 10%) and tuna (As 91% and Cr ¼ 10%). An estimation of As, Cd, Pb, and Hg weekly intake was calculated considering a 60 kg adult person and a 350 g consumption of fish per week, with As and Hg elements presenting the highest contribution on diets reaching 222% of provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) for As in porgy and 41% of PTWI for Hg in tuna.

O Brasil utiliza a irradiação em especiarias e condimentos para a comercialização. No entanto, além de grãos, frutas e flores, a carne de frango é particularmente outro produto nacional com enorme potencial para o emprego da irradiação. Dados divulgados pela União Brasileira de Avicultura [37], posicionaram o Brasil como terceiro maior produtor mundial (5,9 milhões de toneladas) e segundo maior exportador de carne de frango, no ano de 2000 (907 mil toneladas).Em carnes de frango, o crescimento de microrganismos e as atividades enzimáticas são os principais fatores limitantes da vida-útil, freqüentemente prolongada com a proteção das embalagens e aplicação de agentes descontaminantes. A umidade, a composição de voláteis, e principalmente, os lipídeos podem ser alterados de acordo com o material utilizado na embalagem [3]. Da mesma forma, os agentes descontaminantes, associados ao efeito bactericida, devem manter a aparência e o sabor do alimento sem deixar resíduos prejudiciais à saúde [4].O prolongamento da vida-útil de carcaças de frango é uma preocupação constante da indústria avícola. Nos abatedouros, as carcaças são geralmente resfriadas por imersão em água para minimizar o crescimento bacteriano. Apesar de reduzir o índice de crescimento, isso também pode gerar contaminação cruzada entre as carcaças. Ressalta-se que o crescimento de microrganismos durante o armazenamento refrigerado ocorre principalmente no tecido muscular lesado, sendo as contaminações dependentes do tipo de músculo e do pH. Estudos realizados por LAMUKA et al. [22] mostraram que o uso da irradiação em carnes de frango pode retardar a deterioração bacteriana e diminuir a incidência de microrganismos patogênicos e deteriorantes. RESUMOCaixas de papelão contendo cortes de peito de frango sem pele e sem ossos, previamente acondicionadas em bandejas de polietileno expandido, com aproximadamente 200 gramas por bandeja e recobertas por filme de polietileno, foram submetidas à irradiação com 60 Co, utilizando-se equipamento Nordion JS 7500. As amostras foram expostas a doses de 1,5; 3,0 e 7,0kGy, sendo irradiadas na modalidade estática a 0 o e 180 º em relação ao feixe de irradiação. Para avaliar a homogeneidade das doses de irradiação um conjunto de 18 dosímetros de alanina+parafina por tratamento foi colocado dentro das caixas com as amostras. Outro conjunto de dosímetros foi irradiado na faixa de 1 a 10kGy para elaboração da curva de resposta . Após a irradiação, os peitos de frango foram armazenados a 5±1ºC durante 39 dias, sendo submetidos a análises microbiológicas (contagem total de bactérias aeróbias psicrotróficas, bactérias aeróbias mesófilas, bolores e leveduras, Pseudomonas spp, enterobacteriáceas totais, bactérias lácticas e NMP de E.coli) em 10 períodos diferentes ao longo do armazenamento. Os resultados obtidos revelaram um comportamento linear dos dosímetros de alanina+parafina na faixa de 1 a 10kGy de irradiação. Com base nas avaliações microbiológicas as amostras controle tiveram vida-útil de 5 dias, observandose um ganho na vid...

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The occurrence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 was evaluated in 886 samples of hamburgers produced by eight manufacturers in the south and southeast of Brazil from January to September of 1997. The pathogen was not detected in any of the samples analyzed, although 17 (1.9%) showed the presence of E. coli strains, which presented agglutination with O157 antiserum. These strains were not confirmed, since a subsequent identification indicated that they were fermentation positive for sorbitol, incapable of agglutination with the antisera of other commercial brands, and nonproducers of verocytotoxins. A high rate of false-presumptive-positive tests was observed with strains of enterobacteria when isolated by the culture method and when using a commercially purchased enzymatic immunoassay. This high rate of false presumptive positives was likely because the initial screening for sorbitol-negative strains was carried out using phenol red sorbitol 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucuronide agar, which was shown to be inadequate for this purpose.

Microbial resistance is a serious public health problem, which has led to the search for alternative treatments to replace antibiotics, including studies to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of species in Brazil’s Cerrado. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of hydroalcoholic extracts of genipap, baru, and taruma against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans using disc diffusion tests and microdilution. Results indicated that all genipap extracts showed inhibition zones and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum microbicidal concentrations (MMCs) ranging between 150μg/mL and 940μg/mL against all microorganisms tested. Baru pulp extracts exhibited larger inhibition zones against S. aureus and MIC and MMC results between 150µg/mL and 1000µg/mL against all microorganisms except P. aeruginosa. The taruma 30% pulp and seed extracts exhibited the largest halos against S. aureus and MIC and MMC results were between 150μg/mL and 1000μg/mL against all microorganisms except C. albicans. All fruits displayed potential for antimicrobial activity, particularly the genipap’s pulp extracts. Further studies should be performed to identify compounds with antimicrobial activity and to test their applicability as preservatives in foods, as alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters, and as sanitizing agents.