HONEY CONSUMER'S PERCEPTION: ARE BRAZILIAN CONSUMERS FAMILIAR WITH STINGLESS BEE HONEY?

Stingless bees have a fundamental important role in the economies and traditions of South America indigenous cultures. Are mainly responsible for the pollination of several plant species. This way, the aim was to identify if Brazilian consumers know stingless bee honey and its sensorial characteristics, what is the consumption of this, as well as to generate information to assist in the development of the productive chain of the specie. A closed structured questionnaire with 20 questions was used and the participants were invited via social media. Data were collected in November 2020. The statistical analyses were performed related to the description, characterization of the participants and frequencies. In addition these,, multivariate analyzes, for word association and questionnaire responses were performed. It is clear that most participants have some confusion between the sensory and physical characteristics of honey from native stingless bees and Apis mellifera . This lack of knowledge of the product can cause problems both in the handling of honey for sale and for consumption. Another interference would be linked to the taste, when we highlight the acidity and less sweetness of this pot -honey, and the consumer can often deduce that the product is damaged or not from a good origin. There is little consumer awareness of the benefits and qualities of stingless honey. Many consumers are still unaware of the differences between breeding sites and characteristics of native stingless bees. Still, a large part of these associates the quality of this honey with the honey of Apis Mellifera .