Abstract
The detection of adulterated honey is a considerable challenge in the Sri Lankan context. The usual practice is to independently check the different parameters in order to determine the quality of a given honey sample. However, measuring and employing a single parameter for the classification reduces the accuracy of the classification. Thus, in this paper a multi-parameter based honey quality classification is proposed to ensure a better accuracy. The design of a parameter detector and a classifier which can automatically complete the classification of a given sample is also presented. This classifier operating on support vector machines is first trained using an array of honey samples obtained in Sri Lanka. The resultant classifier shows a high level of accuracy of 97.5% for the randomly selected test sample set. The proposed system is a handy tool for accurate, quick, low cost and simple honey quality checking.
Highlights
Honey is a sweet substance produced by several sub-species of bees which consists of floral extracts as well as secretions from bees
This paper has presented a study of the deciding factors for quality in a given honey sample obtained in Sri Lanka
It was observed that the selected parameter pH is independent of the quality of the honey while the quality is correlated to light absorption and conductive properties of the honey
Summary
Honey is a sweet substance produced by several sub-species of bees which consists of floral extracts as well as secretions from bees. There are many techniques that measure the quality of honey In these measurements, a few parameters have been identified as being the most critical and influential in determining the quality of honey namely, the water content, sugar content, acidity, Hydroxymethylfurfuoral (HMF) value and the ash content [2, 3]. The water content in honey is a parameter that directly influences its fermentation. As the amount of minerals in honey increases, it becomes more conductive which can be made use of in determining the quality of honey in terms of mineral content Measuring these parameters in a given honey sample followed by a classification would be able to indicate the quality of the honey.
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