Physicochemical Characterization of Maltese Honey

Attard, Everaldo; Douglas, Adrian Bugeja

doi:10.5772/66330

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…Another typical agricultural product, unique to the Maltese Islands is honey (Attard and Mizzi, 2013 ). Although honey is a sought-after product (Attard and Douglas, 2017 ), by-products of honey extraction and honey left over in hives for extended periods are not fit for direct human consumption and may be considered as a potential starting material for vinegar production. Hence, it can be diluted to obtain a brix content of 18% solution and fermented.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection of Acetic Acid Bacterial Strains and Vinegar Production From Local Maltese Food Sources

et al. 2022

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This study investigates the isolation, identification, and fermentation performance of autochthonous acetic acid bacteria (AAB) from local niche habitats on the Island of Gozo (Malta) and their further use for vinegar production, employing local raw materials. The bacteria were isolated from grapevine berries and vinegar produced in the cottage industry. Following phenotype and genotype identification, the AAB were ascribed to the generaAcetobacter, Gluconobacter, andKomagataeibacter. A mixture of selected AAB was tested as an inoculum for vinegar production in bench fermenters, under different conditions and substrates, namely, grapes, honey, figs, onions, prickly pear, and tomatoes. The bench fermenters were operated under semi-continuous fermentation where working volumes were maintained by discharging and subsequent recharging accordingly to maintain the acidity in fermenters by adding 30–50 g/l of acetic acid for optimalAcetobacteraceaeperformance. Finally, the vinegar products obtained from the different substrates were evaluated for their quality, including organoleptic properties, which showed the superior quality of wood-treated vinegar samples with respect to neat vinegar samples.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection of Acetic Acid Bacterial Strains and Vinegar Production From Local Maltese Food Sources

et al. 2022

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“…Published literature on Maltese honey is lacking, and up till now, no in-depth chemical profiling has been performed on Maltese honey; in fact, the literature is mainly based on physicochemical parameters. These studies include HMF content, diastase and proline levels, and total phenolic content [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. More recently, a comprehensive study with regards to a number of physicochemical parameters and sugar composition has also been published [ 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies include HMF content, diastase and proline levels, and total phenolic content [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. More recently, a comprehensive study with regards to a number of physicochemical parameters and sugar composition has also been published [ 11 ]. Furthermore, little or no comparison has been performed with regards to the physicochemical and chemical properties of Maltese honey with honey samples from other regions of the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of ATR-FT-MIR for Tracing the Geographical Origin of Honey Produced in the Maltese Islands

Formosa

Lia

Mifsud

et al. 2020

Foods

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Maltese honey has been produced, marketed, and sold as an exclusive local gourmet food product for countless years. Yet, thus far, no study has evaluated the individuality of this local food product. The evaluation of the parameters and properties which characterise the provenance and floral source of honey have been the subject of various studies worldwide, owing to the price and potential beneficial properties of this food product. Models analysing the potential of attenuated total reflection mid-infrared (ATR-FT-MIR) spectroscopy in discriminating and classifying local honey from that of foreign origin were investigated using 21 Maltese honey samples and 49 honey samples collected from abroad (Sicily, Greece, Sweden, Italy, France, Estonia and other samples of mixed geographical origin). Through a combination of spectroscopic techniques, spectral transformations, variable selection and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), chemometric models which successfully classified the provenance of local and non-local honey were developed. The results of these models were also corroborated with other classification and pattern recognition techniques, such as linear discriminate analysis (LDA), support vector machines (SVM) and feed-forward artificial neural networks (FF-ANN).

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“…In fact, numerous studies have demonstrated that principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squared-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and canonical discriminant analysis (CDA), among other techniques, allow for the discrimination of different honey types, determine the maturity of the honey, identification of adulteration, and for the confirmation of the presence of specific components [ 23 , 24 ]. A number of different studies have been carried out on the Maltese honey based on physicochemical parameters; these included HMF content, diastase and proline levels, total phenolic content, and sugar composition [ 25 , 26 ]. More recently, a comprehensive study based on the attenuated total reflection mid-infrared (ATR-FT-MIR) spectroscopy showed that it was possible to discriminate and classify local honey from that of non-local samples highlighting the authenticity of the Maltese honey [ 27 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of the Geographical Origin of Maltese Honey Using 1H NMR Fingerprinting

Spiteri

Lia

Farrugia

2020

Foods

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The price of honey, as a highly consumed natural product, depends on its botanical source and its production environment, causing honey to be vulnerable to adulteration through mislabeling and inappropriate, fraudulent production. In this study, a fast and simple approach is proposed to tackle this issue through non-target one dimensional zg30 and noesypr1d 1H NMR fingerprint analysis, in combination with multivariate data analysis. Results suggest that composition differences in sugars, amino acids, and carboxylic acid were sufficient to discriminate between the tested honey of Maltese origin and that of non-local origin. Indeed, all chemometric models based on noesypr1d analysis of the whole fraction honey showed better prediction in geographical discrimination. The possibility of discrimination was further investigated through analysis of the honey’s phenolic extract composition. The partial least squares models were deemed unsuccessful to discriminate, however, some of the linear discriminant analysis models achieved a prediction accuracy of 100%. Lastly, the best performing models of both the whole fraction and the phenolic extracts were tested on five samples of unknown geographic for market surveillance, which attained a high agreement within the models. Thus, suggesting the use of non-target 1H NMR coupled with the multivariate-data analysis and machine learning as a potential alternative to the current time-consuming analytical methods.

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Physicochemical Characterization of Maltese Honey

Cited by 8 publications

References 26 publications

Selection of Acetic Acid Bacterial Strains and Vinegar Production From Local Maltese Food Sources

Selection of Acetic Acid Bacterial Strains and Vinegar Production From Local Maltese Food Sources

Application of ATR-FT-MIR for Tracing the Geographical Origin of Honey Produced in the Maltese Islands

Determination of the Geographical Origin of Maltese Honey Using 1H NMR Fingerprinting

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