Publications by authors named "Karen S Pereira"

Soft drinks are food matrices propitious to the growth of acidophilic bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi due to their pH, water activity, and the presence of nutrients. Off-flavor, clouding, and package stuffing are the only parameters producers have to detect spoilage when it is often too late for the brand's reputation. In this work, microbiological analyses were performed on non-alcoholic beverages of Brazilian and Bolivian brands.

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The aim of this research was to optimize the growth parameters (pH, ethanol tolerance, initial cell concentration and temperature) for and its tolerance to gastrointestinal conditions for probiotic alcoholic beverage development. Placket-Burman screening was used to select only statistically significant variables, and the polynomial mathematical model for yeast growth was obtained by central composite rotatable design. Confirmation experiments to determine the kinetic parameters for yeast growth were carried out by controlling the temperature and pH.

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Tiger nut milk is a nutrient rich drink with great commercialization potential. However, it is highly perishable. Microencapsulation of tiger nut milk by a blend of inulin and modified tiger nut starch resulted in a product with good characteristics.

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Background: In recent decades some outbreaks of food-borne acute Chagas disease (ACD) in humans were identified by clinical and epidemiological characterization after association through the ingestion of açaí pulp probably contaminated with Trypanosoma cruzi. Whereas Belém and Abaetetuba stood out as important risk regions for disease transmission, the importance of Rhodnius pictipes, and Philander opossum for the biological cycle of T. cruzi, and data from agribusiness market of açaí, to study T.

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Outbreaks of acute Chagas disease (ACD) in northern Brazil can be caused by the ingestion of unprocessed açai pulp contaminated with Trypanosoma cruzi . The aim of this study was to determine the minimum thermal process required to inactivate T. cruzi in açai pulp.

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Minas Frescal is a typical Brazilian fresh cheese and one of the most popular dairy products in the country. This white soft, semiskimmed, nonripened cheese with high moisture content is obtained by enzymatic coagulation of cow milk using calf rennet or coagulants, usually in industrial dairy plants, but is also manufactured in small farms. Contamination of Minas Frescal by several staphylococci has been frequently reported.

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Chagas disease is a parasitic infection with high socioeconomic impact throughout Latin America. Although this severe, incurable disease can be transmitted by several routes, oral transmission is currently the most important route in the Amazon Basin. Açaí pulp has nutritional properties and is popular throughout Brazil and abroad.

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Protozoan foodborne diseases are generally underrecognized. Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, one of the most prevalent parasitic infections to humans and domestic animals. The most likely source of T.

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In April 2009, the centenary of the discovery of the American trypanosomiasis, or Chagas disease, was celebrated. A hundred years after the discovery, little has been invested in diagnostics and treatment because the disease affects mainly poor people in developing countries. However, some changes in the epidemiology of the disease are of great importance today.

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Various researchers have studied the importance of the oral transmission of Chagas' disease since the mid-20th century. Only in recent years, due to an outbreak that occurred in the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina in 2005 and to various outbreaks occurring during the last 3 years in the Brazilian Amazon basin, mainly associated with the consumption of Amazonian palm berry or açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) juice, has this transmission route aroused the attention of researchers.

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