Abstract
Food and nutrition are basic requirements for the promotion and protection of health. In addition to ensuring the availability of calories for consumption, it is necessary to improve the access to the variety of nutrients offered to the population. The consumption of brown sugar inserts nutrients into the feeding, once it is produced only by the evaporation of the existing water in the sugarcane broth, thus maintaining all the original constituents of the plant. To evaluate the influence of organic and conventional fertilization in the nutritional quality of the brown sugars, a test was conducted with six fertilization systems, in a completely randomized block design with four repetitions. The sugars produced were analysed regarding the contents of the nutrients Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu and the toxic elements Pb and Cd. The results showed that the different fertilization systems influenced the content of the minerals present. Although small, the differences were statistically significant and the treatments provided sugars with nutritional characteristics, with an advantage for the totally organic sugar (using organic fertilizer and corrective) which, in addition to environmental issues, did not present lead contamination.
Highlights
Agriculture is one of the oldest human activities and is always under transformation (Drew, 2005)
Recommendations of the maximum levels of some inorganic contaminants in foods can be found at the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária [ANVISA] (2013), and in the African Organisation for Standardisation [ARSO] (2012), which establish as maximum limits for Pb 0.1 and 0.5 mg kg-1, respectively
Despite the statistical differences between the composition of the nutrients and the type of planting, it was observed that the values obtained are different from other authors, as well as from those recommended by TACO; variations in the nutrient content of the foods occur by the way of cultivation, and by the soil, climate, culture, among other variables
Summary
Agriculture is one of the oldest human activities and is always under transformation (Drew, 2005). From the Green Revolution, the industrialization of agriculture has been using seed cultivation techniques and intensive use of inputs and industrial mechanization seeking to increase agricultural production (Teixeira, 2005). Industrial agriculture has contributed to numerous forms of environmental degradation, including loss of biodiversity, excessive dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels, soil erosion and air and water pollution caused by the use of fertilizers and pesticides with aggravations to human health. The loss of biodiversity makes this type of agriculture contrary to the basic principles of sustainable development (Horrigan, Lawrence, & Walker, 2002; Balsan, 2006). The comparative analysis of production systems leaves no doubt about the problems caused by the conventional system and has shown that the organic farmers who follow an ecological approach have achieved satisfactory results in various aspects related to sustainability. The restoration of the heterogeneity of agricultural habitats and the strengthening of the agricultural biodiversity have been obtained, being more energetically efficient and producing fewer greenhouse gases (Darolt, 2009)
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