Be it in education, research or industry, Brazil is now a leader in food science and technology, argues Delia Rodriguez-Amaya and Glaucia Maria Pastore
Brazil has built high quality academic capability, both in the generation and advancement of knowledge and in training of human resources, in different fields of studies including food science and technology. About 70 universities offer the five-year undergraduate course in food engineering. There are 27 programmes offering both the Master and Doctorate degrees in food science, food technology, food engineering and food and nutrition. In addition, 14 programmes offer only the Master degrees. These numerous academic institutions provide qualified human resources not only for the universities themselves, but also for research institutes, government agencies and industry. Aside from the Brazilians, students from other Latin American countries work for their degrees, especially graduate degrees, in Brazil.
The graduate programmes are evaluated and ranked by a food science and technology committee at the Coordination for Higher Education (CAPES) of the Ministry of Education with the view of promoting high standards in graduate studies throughout the country.
The funding agencies National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and Research and Projects Financing {FINEP}, both of which are linked to the Ministry of Science and Technology, support research at the national level. Each state has its own research foundation, such as the Foundation for the Support of Research in the state of São Paulo {FAPESP}. A large number of basic and applied research on diverse topics, especially projects that are innovative and relevant to the country's scientific, technological and economic development, as well as those that contribute to the population's health and wellness, are financed. These agencies also provide university scholarships, especially for graduate students.
Among the research topics in food science and technology are: development of Brazilian functional foods and characterization of the bioactive compounds, biotechnological production of aromas; incidence and control of mycotoxins and other contaminants, new processing technologies, development of tropical and subtropical fruit products, production of enzymes for application in food, development of alternatives to reduce trans-isomers in industrialized products, development of products from indigenous plant foods, utilization of sub products of the Brazilian food and agri-industries in the development of products with added value, development of food products for special uses, Thanks to substantial research funding, Brazil is the world leader in sugarcane and ethanol knowledge and technology. The sustainable use of the biodiversity of flora and fauna for food and other purposes is gaining strong interest.
Agricultural production
With its vast territory, rich soil and a varied climate that permits a diversity of crops, Brazil has enormous agricultural capacity, furnishing diverse raw materials and ingredients to industry, as well as an impressive variety of products for the fresh produce market. Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugarcane, coffee and oranges. It is the second largest producer of soybean, and the third for com. It a1so has the world's largest commercial cattle herd (50% larger than that of the U.S,) at 170 million heads. It is second to the U.S, in poultry production.
Brazil has numerous native fruits and vegetables, which should be better utilized, considering their high contents of nutrients and bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids and flavonoids.
This country has the fourth largest agricultural system in the world, and production is still growing fast while that of competitors is stalled. Only about 9% of the total land area is currently used for agriculture, and Brazil has 14% of the earth's fresh water. There is active agricultural research, led by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), the mission of which is "to provide feasible solutions for the sustainable development of Brazilian agribusiness through knowledge and technology generation and transfer."
The food industry
The Brazilian food industry is large, dynamic, advanced and highly competitive. It is part of the agribusiness chain of production, which in 2004 according to the National Confederation of Agriculture, accounted for 30.2% of the country's GDP. Brazil is the world's third largest exporter of agribusiness products.
The food processing industry, the second largest sector among manufacturing industries in Brazil, was valued at US$173 billion in 2009 according to the Brazilian Food Processors' Association (ABIA). Meat and by-product processing was the most lucrative, accounting for US$34.4 billion; coffee, tea and cereals ranked second amounting to US$19.5 billion. The sugar industry ranked third. Expansion of the Brazilian food industry in recent years has been attributed to rising exports and increased consumer purchasing power.
Brazil is the world's principal exporter of coffee, beef and poultry, juices, sugar and ethanol. It is also a major supplier of oil and soy meal, corn and pork Brazil’s food industry exported US$ 17 billion worth of products in 2004, accounting for 17.7% of Brazil's total exports. Brazil's processed food exports go (in decreasing order) to the European Union, Middle East, Russia, Nafta, Japan, China, Eastern Europe, Mercosul and India.
Of the top 10 leading companies in the food industry, four are Brazilian companies (Sadia, Brasil Foods, Copersucar and JBS) and six are multinational (Ambev, Bunge, Cargill, Nestle and ADM). Along with the modern large- and medium-sized companies, there are numerous cottage industries that manufacture traditional and typical Brazilian food products.
The Brazilian food markets offer the consumers a remarkable array of meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products, milk and dairy products, cereals, pastas, vegetable oils, juices and other fruit products, beverages, chocolate and candies, fish and fish products and bakery products, along with a wide variety of fresh tropical, subtropical and temperate fruits and vegetables.
