![]() ![]() Processing temperature had significant effect on the moisture content. Treatment in a closed system minimizes losses of volatile aroma during heating. So, it is necessary to process the honey by subjecting it to thermal treatment to prevent fermentation by sugar tolerant yeasts (Fallico et al. Honey having high water content ferments easily with time. The amount of water present in honey determines its stability against fermentation and granulation (Dyce 1979). Moisture is one of the most important parameter of honey quality. The present review aims to discuss the importance of honey processing, different systems developed for moisture reduction of honey and the major quality parameters affected by the heat treatment. 2002) along with destruction of sugar tolerant osmophilic yeasts to prolong the shelf life of honey (Guo et al. The colour also becomes uniform throughout the sample for the preference of consumers (Abu-Jdayil et al. It destroys the sugar crystal nuclei to retard granulation by dissolving them during processing (Turhan et al. However, heating not only eases the bottling process by reducing the viscosity of honey (Anklam 1998), but also reduces the water content in honey to prevent fermentation (Subramanian et al. The major constituents of honey are sugars, water, proteins, enzymes, acids and minerals, while the major causes of quality deterioration include heating at high temperatures, high moisture content, adulteration, poor packaging and poor storage conditions (Krell 1996). Proper understanding and standardisation of honey components and attributes that are most vulnerable during processing cannot be ignored. These include moisture content, electrical conductivity, reducing sugars, amount of fructose and glucose, sucrose content, individual sugars, minerals, free acidity, diastase, HMF, invertase and proline (Bogdanov 1999). The International Honey Commission (IHC) has proposed certain constituents as a measure of quality criteria for honey. Honey quality is an aspect generally disregarded by producers and processors especially in developing economies. The quality of honey is important for both local and international markets to ensure competitive prices and human health. Several of these constituents are of great importance to the honey industry as they influence the storage quality, granulation, texture, flavour and the nutritional and medicinal quality of the honey. Honey is generally evaluated by physico-chemical analysis of its properties. The colour, flavour and aroma are the important quality characteristics of honey from consumer’s point of view. However, honey may crystallize after a period of time and this sometimes affect colour and consumer’s acceptability. Its composition and chemical properties make it suitable for long-term storage. Honey is a sweet and viscous liquid which has sweetness due to the presence of monosaccharides such as fructose and glucose. Products such as honey, beeswax, bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly, venom, queen bees and larvae are of socio-economic value (Krell 1996). Beekeeping has been widely promoted in many countries as a major contributor to rural development (Kugonza and Nabakabya 2008). The activity of beekeeping provides a beneficial food and income source for rural households in developing countries. ![]()
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