**2. Methods**

storing it and leaving it to mature in separate honeycombs [1–3]. Honey is characterized as a semi-liquid product, comprising a complex mixture of carbohydrates, especially the monosaccharides glucose and fructose; and other sugars, enzymes, lactones, wax, pigments, vitamins, amino acids, minerals, organic acids and pollen [4]. Its chemical composition varies according to the bee species, weather conditions, type of soil, physiological state of the colony, nectar source and honey maturity [5]. Its nutritional quality, which occurs due to the presence of minerals and vitamins, sensory properties, medicinal properties such as antioxidant and antiseptic activity, specific therapeutic properties, such as for the treatment of inflammatory

In Brazil, Normative Ruling No. 11 of October 20, 2000, which regulates the standardization of honey for marketing purposes, is based on European laws and approves only honey produced by bees of the Apis genus [3]. The physicochemical analyzes indicated by Brazilian legislation for the identity and quality of honey produced by bees from the Apis genus are moisture, sucrose, reducing sugars, ash, minerals, acidity, diastase activity, color and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content [3]. These analyses contribute to the supervision and control of the quality of honey produced in Brazil and intended for export, and the results are compared with both Brazilian standards and those of international organizations [5, 8], see **Table 1**. Some concerns exist regarding the quality of domestically produced honey, and such

The aim of this chapter is to significantly contribute to the improvement of techniques that evaluate the quality of honey, and to propose an adjustment to the physicochemical parameters established by Brazilian law [3], adding additional analysis such as pH, formaldehyde index (mL kg−1), electric conductivity (mS cm−1), protein (%), total reducing sugars (%), viscosity (mPa s) and water activity. These analyzes can contribute effectively to control the quality of commercially available honey. The analysis required by existing legislation combined with

**Parameters Brazil (2000) Mercosur (1999) European Union (2001)**

Nearly colorless to dark brown

–

Moisture (%) Maximum 20.0 Maximum 20.0 Maximum 20.0 Acidity (meq kg−1) Maximum 50.0 Maximum 50.0 Maximum 50.0

HMF (mg kg−1) Maximum 60.0 Maximum 60.0 Maximum 60.0 Electric conductivity (μS cm−1) – – Maximum 0.8 Reducing sugars (%) Minimum 65.0 Minimum 65.0 Minimum 60.0 Saccharose (%) Maximum 6.0 Maximum 6.0 Maximum 5.0 Diastase activity (Goethe) Minimum 8.0 Minimum 8.0 Minimum 8.0

Ash (%) Maximum 0.6 Maximum 0.6 –

dark brown

**Table 1.** National and international standards for honey from *Apis mellifera* L.

Color Nearly colorless to

194 Honey Analysis

Source: Brazil [3]; Mercosur [9] and European Union [10].

and infectious processes, and high energy content attract many consumers [6, 7].

tests allow the quality of imported honey to be inspected [5].

All analyses were performed in triplicate to provide greater reliability for the results, following the methods described in the below sections.
