Physical and chemical studies on the Egyptian honey compared with standard honey specification

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Dept. of Economic Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria Univ., Egypt

10.21608/jpces.2004.459482

Abstract

Egyptian honey standard of 1990 needs modifications to meet the demands of Egyptian honey producers and to agree with the growing requirements of the international market. A total of 35 honey samples of citrus, clover and cotton honeys were collected from 26 locations in Alexandria and Behera provinces. Samples were analyzed according to the official methods of analysis of the AOAC (1984) for the determination of sucrose, reducing sugars, moisture content, water insoluble solids, ash, free acidity, lactone, total acidity, diastase activity and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) concentration. The honey samples were compared with the standards of Codex (1998), Gulf (1992) and Egypt (1990). Pollen content was studied in all samples as well. The Egyptian honey standard was proven to be stricter than other standards and is recommended to be modified as the apparent sucrose content should be raised to 10% except for the cotton honey, the reducing sugar contents should be 65%, the ash content should be 0.6 g per 100 g honey, the HMF limit should be 80 mg / kg and the diastase activity should be included as 3 on Gothe scale.

Keywords

Journal of Pest Control and Environmental Sciences
Volume 12, Issue 1
2004
Pages 113-133

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