**1. Introduction**

46 Recent Trends for Enhancing the Diversity and Quality of Soybean Products

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indicators, methods and sites for monitoring potential adverse effects of genetically modified plants to the environment: the legal and conceptional framework for World soybean production in the 2009/2010 harvest was roughly 260 million tons, and the major producers were the United States, Brazil and Argentina, producing 91.4, 69.0 and 57.0 million tons, respectively (USDA, 2011). Given the significant world production of soybeans, quality is essential for the sectors involved in production and/or processing of this commodity. Quality is an important parameter for commercialization and processing of the grains and can affect the value of the product and its derivatives.

During post-harvest stages, soybeans are subjected to qualitative and quantitative losses due to several external factors. These factors may be physical, such as temperature and humidity; chemical, such as oxygen supply; and biological, such as bacteria, fungi, insects and rodents (BROOKER et al., 1992). According to BAILEY (1974), secure storage retains the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the grains, creating conditions unfavorable to the development of insects, rodents and microorganisms. Grain storage in the natural environment of tropical regions, according to ABBA & LOVATO (1999), presents major problems as a result of the temperature and relative humidity when compared with temperate or cold climates.

Soybeans are composed of roughly 20% lipids and are susceptible to qualitative deterioration processes via degradation of these compounds when stored improperly and can result in serious damage to the food industry. According to NARAYAN et al. (1988a), physical, chemical and biochemical alterations may occur in soybeans, depending on conditions and storage time. The qualitative changes of soybeans during storage contribute to the loss of oil and meal quality (ORTHOEFER, 1978), as well as other derivatives such as tofu and soymilk (NARAYAN et al. 1988b; LIU, 1997; HOU & CHANG, 1998; KONG et al., 2008).
