Traceability of specialty coffees from the Cerrado Mineiro

• Grant number: 24/23926-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Elisabete Aparecida de Nadai Fernandes
• Grantee: Valéria de Souza Ivo
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/12732-5 - Transparency in the Brazilian production chains of agricultural export commodities: a holistic study of elemental and isotopic fingerprints, AP.TEM

Abstract

The quality of specialty coffees is closely related to the chemical characteristics of the beans, which are influenced by environmental conditions, management practices, cultural treatments, and post-harvest processes. Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer and the second largest consumer, has a production hub in Minas Gerais state with environmental and cultural factors that impart unique sensory characteristics. The commercial assessment of grain quality is based on attributes such as color, type, and cup testing which, although relevant, do not reflect the intrinsic properties of the beans, requiring a robust traceability system that allows discrimination of coffee beans through chemical markers and ensures authenticity according to geographic origin, in addition to providing detailed information on the entire production chain. The combination of these parameters promotes food safety, sustainability, and increases the reliability of information. Cooxupé, the largest coffee cooperative in the world, created the "Generations Protocol" that promotes sustainable practices aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ESG guidelines, aiming to produce high-quality specialty coffees. This project proposes to investigate the chemical composition of specialty coffees produced by Cooxupé members located in the Cerrado Mineiro, with the aim of discriminating between different varieties of coffee and authenticating the origin through traceability and comparing the chemical characteristics with the sensorial attributes evaluated in cup testing, increasing the competitiveness of Brazilian specialty coffees on the international market. (AU)