Quantification of ethyl carbamate in cachaça produced in different agro-industrial production systems

• Published in: Journal of the Institute of Brewing 2016-06, Vol.122 (2), p.299-303
• Main Authors: d'Avila, Gabriel Biscotto, Cardoso, Maria das Graças, Santiago, Wilder Douglas, Rodrigues, Leonardo Milani Avelar, da Silva, Bruno Leuzinger, Cardoso, Rodolfo Romanielo, Caetano, Alex Rodrigues Silva, de Fátima e Silva Ribeiro, Cleusa, Nelson, David Lee
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis of variance; beverage; Beverages; Brewing; Carcinogens; Ceilings; Contaminants; Distillation; Ethyl carbamate; Fermentation; Industrial production; Legislation; organic contaminant; production; Sugarcane; Variance analysis; Yeasts
• ISSN: 0046-9750; 2050-0416
• DOI: 10.1002/jib.322

Popularly known by various names such as caninha, dangerous, drips, damned and many other denominations, cachaça is the genuine Brazilian drink, produced by the fermentation of sugarcane juice by yeast, followed by distillation in alambics. Considering that cachaça is the most widely consumed distilled beverage from Brazil, the knowledge of the chemical composition and the presence of potentially toxic compounds such as ethyl carbamate, considered a human carcinogen, is important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different conditions of the agro‐industrial cachaça production systems, including the variety of sugarcane, on the quantification of ethyl carbamate through the chromatographic. Thirteen unaged beverage samples, produced from different varieties of sugarcane, were analysed. Using analysis of variance and comparison of average concentrations of ethyl carbamate (Scott–Knott, α = 5%), all of the samples were found to contain contaminant levels below the ceiling established by the legislation, which is 210 µg L−1. Copyright © 2016 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling