AVALIAÇÃO FÍSICO-QUÍMICA E MICROBIOLÓGICA DE AÇAÍ ( Euterpe oleracea ) CONGELADO PRONTO PARA O CONSUMO COMERCIALIZADO EM LIMOEIRO DO NORTE-CEARÁ

Acai is a typical fruit of the North region of the country, having as the main region of natural dispersion the state of Para. This fruit is one of the ten most consumed in Brazil. Knowing the great importance that acai and its products have, it is important to verify the physical-chemical and microbiological quality of frozen edibles acai. The eleven samples were collected at different commercial points in the Limoeiro do Norte-CE, in duplicate, where the physical-chemical analyzes (pH, moisture, total solids, ashes, proteins, total lipids, titratable acidity, sugars, non-reducing sucrose sugars, water activity and vitamin C) and microbiological (quantification of total and thermotolerant coliforms, Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp). Considering the results obtained, for the physical-chemical analyzes, it was possible to observe that the samples of edible frozen acai analyzed presented high caloric value, high humidity and a considerable amount of Vitamin C, and for the microbiological analyzes some samples presented contamination by total and thermotolerant coliforms, however, all acai samples were within the standards required by current legislation. Keywords: food analysis; quality control; food legislation; ice cream.