Moisture and Acidity as Indicators of the Quality of Honey Originating From Vojvodina Region

Abstract

The color, aroma and fl avor are major sensory characteristics of honey, which are mainly determined by the botanical origin of honey as well as by processing and storage conditions. Increased moisture content above the maximum permitted level could result in honey spoilage, which aff ects its sensory properties. The higher water-in-honey content, the greater possibility of yeast fermentation and thus the change of the fl avor and color ofhoney. Fermentation process results in alcohol formation and, in the presence of oxygen, the alcohol will break down to acetic acid and water, which causes honey to have sour taste. Thus, moisture content of honey is a critical parameter for its quality as it aff ects the stability of honey and its resistance to microbial spoilage during storage. Physicochemical analysis of moisture content and acidity of honey play an important role in determining the overall characteristic of honey and final assessment of its quality. In this study, the investigation of aforementioned parameters resulted in positive quality assessment for 48 of 50 examined honey samples produced in 2013 in the territory of Vojvodina.

Electrical conductivity and acidity of honey

“…The composition of organic acids in honey has not yet been adequately investigated; however, some evidence suggest that acacia, chestnut and meadow honeys are characterized by particularly low contents of organic acids, while darker honeys in general appear to be higher in acidity (Prica et al, 2014). Very similar results were obtained in our earlier research (Prica et al, 2014). Similar results of honey free acidity were reported by other authors from other Mediterranean countries (Boussaid et al, 2018;Chakir et al, 2016;Yadata, 2014;Kirs et al, 2011;Sousa et al, 2016).…”

“…Our results also demonstrated low acidity of acacia honey and high acidity of forest honey, as compared with other examined honey types. The composition of organic acids in honey has not yet been adequately investigated; however, some evidence suggest that acacia, chestnut and meadow honeys are characterized by particularly low contents of organic acids, while darker honeys in general appear to be higher in acidity (Prica et al, 2014). Very similar results were obtained in our earlier research (Prica et al, 2014).…”

Determination of furanic compounds and acidity for Italian honey quality

“…the botanical origin of honey, the level of minerals, the time of harvesting, and also with the presence of amino acids (0.05–0.1%) and organic acids (0.17–1.17%), such as acetic, butyric, citric, formic, gluconic, lactic, malic, pyroglutamic, and succinic acids. Among these, gluconic acid is the main organic acid, resulting from the spontaneous hydrolysis of glucone‐ δ ‐lactone enzymatically formed by glucose . So the total acidity in honey must be evaluated as the sum of free and lactone acidities.…”

Praćenje promjena kemijskih parametara meda ovisno o načinu njegova skladištenja

“…1,6 Kristalizacija, viskoznost, specifična masa, indeks refrakcije, električna vodljivost te optička svojstva označavaju fizikalna svojstva meda koja su usko povezana s njegovim kemijskim svojstvima, a zbog razlika u sastavu meda vrijednosti ovih parametara mogu biti specifične i različite. 7 Med također ima karakteristična senzorička svojstva kod kojih su najvažnija boja, okus i miris, a ovise o biljnom podrijetlu meda te uvjetima prerade i čuvanja. 4 Analiza senzoričkih svojstava meda vrlo je važna s obzirom na to da se rezultatima senzoričkih ispitivanja može ukazati na patvorenje meda, poput prekomjernog dodavanja šećera, kontaminacije meda stranim tvarima ili se može utvrditi ako med nije pravilno deklariran ili pravilno skladišten jer sve je to odraz samih promjena i u fizikalnom i kemijskom sastavu meda koje su posljedica navedenih radnji.…”