Comparison of Methods for Determining Moisture Content of Citrus and Eucalyptus Brazilian Honeys by Refractometry

✍ Scribed by C.B. Cano; M.L. Felsner; J.R. Matos; R.E. Bruns; H.M. Whatanabe; L.B. Almeida-Muradian

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 201 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0889-1575
• DOI: 10.1006/jfca.2000.0951

✦ Synopsis

European Honey Commission (EHC) proposed a modi"cation of this method suggesting a pre-treatment for crystallized honey samples. The objectives of the present work were: to study by factorial design the in#uence of pre-treatment and physical state of sample on moisture content determined by refractometry; to choose the better procedure and determine the average value of moisture content of 50 citrus and eucalyptus honey samples. Samples were collected in Sa o Paulo State, Brazil during 1996}1998. An AbbeH Refractometer thermostatted at 203C was used and the pre-treatment was done in a water bath at 503C until crystal dissolution. The e!ects of the variables of factorial design (pre-treatment and physical state) were signi"cant at 95% level. Results of this design showed that the use of the pre-treatment, suggested by EHC, is superior for analysis of liquid and crystallized honey samples. The moisture values obtained for eucalyptus were higher than those for citrus honey samples independent of the analysis method used.