Enriched flour quality investigation using Principal Component Analysis (PCA)

Some countries, including Brazil (resolution - RDC # 344, 2004), have issued a regulation stipulating that corn and wheat flours have to be fortified with folic acid and iron. The main objective of this work was to investigate some enriched flour characteristics using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Wheat and corn flours presented, on average, acceptable centesimal composition according to the Brazilian Legislation. For the wheat flours investigated, the folic acid concentration was, on average, close to the expected value. Corn flours contained higher amount of vitamin. For both types of flour, the iron content exceeded the label claim of the products. Parameters, such as folic acid, iron, protein, lipids, moisture, ash, and carbohydrates content were present in 30 flour packages purchased from the local market. A matrix with 30 rows and 7 columns was organized and the data was autoscaled. The first information observed was an expected discrimination according to the type of flour. The wheat flours were characterized by high protein, moisture, and ash content. On the other hand, the corn flours had high iron, carbohydrates, lipids, and folic acid. Another important observation was related to the package type. It was noted that the flours packed in plastic bags had less folic acid (152 mu g. 100 g(-1), on average) than those packed in paper (259 mu g. 100 g(-1), on average) bags. This behavior is probably due to the light incidence during the storage period. This study can be useful to help the governmental authorities in the enriched food program evaluation. In this case, it will be possible to set suitable rules for appropriate food packaging. Original