Geographical Discrimination of Ground Amazon Cocoa by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy: Influence of Sample Preparation

Abstract

This work presents the application of the NIR technique associated with exploratory analysis of spectral data by main principal components for the discrimination of Amazon cocoa ground seeds. Cocoa samples from different geographic regions of the state of Pará, Brazil (Medicilândia, Tucumã, and Tomé-Açu), were evaluated. The samples collected from each region were divided into four groups distinguished by the treatment applied to the samples, which were fermented (1-with fat and 2-fat-free) and unfermented (3-with moisture and 4-dried). Each set of samples was analyzed separately to identify the influence of moisture, fermentation, and fat on the geographical differentiation of the three regions. From the results obtained, it can be observed that it was not possible to differentiate the samples of seeds not fermented by geographic origin. However, fermentation was crucial for efficient discrimination, providing more defined clusters for each geographic region. The presence of fat in the seeds was a determinant to obtain the best model of geographic discrimination.