Detection of honey adulterations based on physicochemical analysis
Abstract
Natural bee honey is a valuable food product, which is very popular in many countries around the world. However, the high demand for it has led to the increase in adulteration cases. In Russia, two adulterations seem to be the most common and difficult to detect – “artificial honey” and “sugar honey”. In accordance with the requirements of State Standards, their detection is based on physicochemical analysis, which, unfortunately, doesn’t always make it possible to obtain reliable results. According to the literature data, the quality of honey can also be evaluated by such indicators as catalase and D-glucose-1-oxidase activity, as well as the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The article presents data on determining the possibility of identifying these adulterations based on the evaluation of physicochemical parameters recommended by State Standards, and additional criteria, in order to increase the objectivity of the obtained results. The obtained data were compared both with State Standards criteria and with physicochemical parameters of natural buckwheat honey samples involved in this experiment. It was found that "artificial honey" didn’t meet the requirements of State Standards in all parameters except for moisture content. Also, low enzymatic activity and concentration of H2O2 (74 times less than in natural honey) was detected. Another adulteration "sugar honey" according to all criteria met State Standards, so its identification was more difficult. The enzyme activity was slightly reduced. Only a low H2O2 concentration could be attributed to the manifesting indicators (7.1 times less than in natural honey). Thus, the obtained data made it possible to conclude that it is expedient to use the measurement of H2O2 concentration as the additional parameter in case of suspected honey adulterations. In addition, the insufficient H2O2 content in honey adulterations caused the significant decrease in their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (strain 1257) and Staphylococcus aureus (strain 209-P). Thus, the H2O2 concentration is the important indicator of honey naturalness, its use may be appropriate as the additional criterion in case of falsification suspicion.
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