Abstract
Honey has a remarkable commercial value as a natural product for producers. This study aimed to examine the differences in the physicochemical properties of the flower honey produced in Kastamonu, a province in the Black Sea Region of Turkey, in different years to see if they changed and if the physicochemical properties met the quality standards for honey. To this end, the honey samples (Apis mellifera) produced in Kastamonu province were studied. The samples were collected from 40 producers of honey between 2016 and 2019. We carried out the quality analysis according to the Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Honey and compared it with the EU standards. The results showed that fructose/glucose ratio, total fructose and glucose (%), diastase (shade), proline (mg/kg), electrical conductivity (ms/cm), HMF (mg/kg), and acidity (meq/kg) did not change during four years while the moisture content differed significantly. In other words, the quality of the studied samples remained stable in four years. The majority of the studied honey samples obtained from the Black Sea Region of Turkey were compatible with the Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Honey and the EU standards.
Keywords:
Black Sea Region; honey; physicochemical parameters; quality; Turkey