Properties of Some Commercial Honeys Available in Mexican Market: Effect of Overheating on Quality of the Packaged Honey

Background: Honey is a natural product, but it can be adulterated or heat-treated, both ofwhich damage the properties of the original product. This research was focused on theevaluation of quality parameters of some commercial honeys produced in México.Methods: Fifteen samples of commercial honeys available in Mexican market werecollected. Some physicochemical parameters were determined, including pH, moisture,water activity, electric conductivity, color, sugar content (fructose and glucose), andhydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) contents.Results: The results showed that the physicochemical parameters were found within acceptableranges according to international regulations, with exception of the HMF contentin 8 out of 15 honey samples which presented an unacceptable value (> 40 mg/kg). TheHMF content of the samples ranged from 14.56 to 224.08 mg/kg. Also, all samples ofcommercial honeys were classified as dark honey according to the L* values determinedless than 50 with range from 14.35 to 35.45.Conclusion: Some commercial honeys from Guadalajara, Mexico had HMF levels abovethe acceptable limit because of overheating during the packaging process. All evaluatedcommercial honeys were classified as dark according to the L* values which could be dueto formation of browning pigments, in particular HMF, during the overheating. Theproducers of packaged honey should be encouraged to establish more moderate thermaltreatments in order to avoid adverse changes, which affect the quality of the product.© 2019, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. This is an open access articleunder the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords:

Honey , 5-hydroxymethylfurfural , Heating , Food Quality , Mexico