Abstract
One hundred thirty-three honey samples of different floral origin from two different production years (2017 and 2018) from Serbia were examined in order to determine water content. The water content in honey affects physical, microbiological, sensory properties, and commercial value of honey. The water content in all examined honey samples produced in 2017 (56) was below maximum permissible level set by local regulations for honey. Out of the total of 77 tested honey samples that were produced in 2018, 3 samples (3.9%) did not comply with the provisions of the Regulation. By analysing honey samples originating from 2017, there was a significant difference between the water contents betwen linden honey and honeydew (p = 0.0027). The same result was obtained based on the water content in different honey types from the year 2018 (p = 0.00022). Using the F test, it has been shown that there is no significant difference in the water content between certain types of honey produced in these two years ( 2017 and 2018).
Highlights
Natural honey is sticky, viscous solution containing about 80‒85% carbohydrates, 15‒17% water, 0.1‒0.4% proteins, 0.2% ash and minor amounts of amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and other substances such as phenolic antioxidants (Buba et al, 2013; Kek et al, 2017)
The water content in all investigated honey samples produced in 2017 was below 20%, which is the maximum permissible level set by local regulations for honeys (Official Gazette, 101/2015)
Our results demonstrated a low water content of honeydew honey and high water content of linden honey, compared to other examined honey types
Summary
Viscous solution containing about 80‒85% carbohydrates (mainly glucose and fructose), 15‒17% water, 0.1‒0.4% proteins, 0.2% ash and minor amounts of amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and other substances such as phenolic antioxidants (Buba et al, 2013; Kek et al, 2017). Honey is a natural food consumed without any processing and is characterized by its complex composition, which varies in accordance with the bee species, geographical region, available floral source and storage conditions (Karabagias et al, 2014). The water content (moisture) in honey depends on the production season, floral source, abundance of nectar flow, soil, ventilation of the beehive, colony strength, and meteorological conditions in the area of honey production, primarily air humidity (Escuerdo et al, 2014; Kirs et al, 2011; Lazarević et al, 2017; Sousa et al, 2016). An important factor that could affect the water content is honey maturation and harvest time. According to most of national good beekeeping practice recommendations, beekeeper should harvest honey when at least 2/3 wax combs in frames are covered with wax lids
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