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COMPOSITION OF STINGLESS BEE HONEY: SETTING QUALITY STANDARDS
Author
Affilliation
Universidade de São Paulo. Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz. Piracicaba, SP, Brasil.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Ancón, Panama.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
CSIRO. Australia.
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Guatemala.
Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia. Cruz das Almas, BA, Brasil.
Universidade Estadual Paulista. Rio Claro, SP, Brasil.
Universidade de São Paulo. São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
ABENA/CEIPAC. Criciúma, SC, Brasil.
Istituto Sperimentale per la Zoologia Agraria, Roma, Italy.
Universidade de São Paulo. São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Swiss Bee Research Centre. Liebefeld, Switzerland.
Universidad de Los Andes. Venezuela.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Ancón, Panama.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
CSIRO. Australia.
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Guatemala.
Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia. Cruz das Almas, BA, Brasil.
Universidade Estadual Paulista. Rio Claro, SP, Brasil.
Universidade de São Paulo. São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
ABENA/CEIPAC. Criciúma, SC, Brasil.
Istituto Sperimentale per la Zoologia Agraria, Roma, Italy.
Universidade de São Paulo. São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Swiss Bee Research Centre. Liebefeld, Switzerland.
Universidad de Los Andes. Venezuela.
Abstract
Compositional data from 152 stingless bee (Meliponini) honey
samples were compiled from studies since 1964, and evaluated
to propose a quality standard for this product. Since stingless
bee honey has a different composition than Apis mellifera honey,
some physicochemical parameters are presented according to
stingless bee species. The entomological origin of the honey was
known for 17 species of Meliponini from Brazil, one from Costa
Rica, six from Mexico, 27 from Panama, one from Surinam,
two from Trinidad & Tobago, and seven from Venezuela, most
from the genus Melipona. The results varied as follows: moisture
(19.9-41.9g/100g), pH (3.15-4.66), free acidity (5.9-109.0meq/
Kg), ash (0.01-1.18g/100g), diastase activity (0.9-23.0DN), electrical
conductivity (0.49-8.77mS/cm), HMF (0.4-78.4mg/Kg), invertase
activity (19.8-90.1IU), nitrogen (14.34-144.00mg/100g),
reducing sugars (58.0-75.7g/100g) and sucrose (1.1-4.8g/100g).
Moisture content of stingless bee honey is generally higher than the 20% maximum established for A. mellifera honey. Guidelines
for further contributions would help make the physicochemical
database of meliponine honey more objective, in order to use
such data to set quality standards. Pollen analysis should be directed
towards the recognition of unifloral honeys produced by
stingless bees, in order to obtain standard products from botanical
species. A honey quality control campaign directed to both
stingless beekeepers and stingless bee honey hunters is needed,
as is harmonization of analytical methods.
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