HONEY-BASED "AGUA-MEL" CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY

In Mediterranean countries such as Italy and Portugal an ancient practice among beekepers is the production of a honey-based product that is called "agua-mel" (Portuguese designation) or "abbamele" (Italian designation) that have not only food applications but also medicinal purposes. However, the characterization of such foodstuff is completely absent in Portugal. In our study the main goal was to provide the general chemical characterization and the microbiological quality of samples of "agua-mel". The chemical characterization showed a great variability of the ash percentage (0.167-0.474); electrical conductivity (407-1067 mu S/cm); free acidity (33.2-91.2 meq/kg); lactone acidity (14.60-20.50 meq/kg); total acidity (53.7-122.72 meq/kg); glucose (185.57-258.52 g/kg); fructose (218.49-315.36 g/kg); total polyphenols (1780.0-4963.8 mg/kg); flavonoids (188.8-1702.4 mg/kg) and 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde (HMF) (1812.6-8428.9 mg/kg), depending on the beekeeper and production year. The microbiological quality included the counts of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, yeasts and moulds, Enterobacteriaceae, sulphite-reducing Clostridium spp. and the presence of Salmonella spp. The results showed that from all "agua-mel" samples analyzed only one sample was contaminated with Clostridium spp. and aerobic mesophilic bacteria. Taken together both chemical and microbiological data indicates a safe consumption of "agua-mel".