Conventional and Modern Analytical Methods used for Algerian Honey Authentication

Abstract

In terms of food safety and quality, the authenticity of food products is a major concern. The authenticity of honey in regard to its botanical or geographic origin and adulteration has drawn more attention in recent years. Honey is a natural, ready-to-eat product that has a high level of nutrition and offers a number of health advantages. In order to counteract frequent honey frauds including mislabeling honey's origin and adulteration with sugar or syrups, companies and consumers must prioritize the authentication of honey. Different analytical techniques are employed to identify genuine honey. The traditional analytical procedures are still employed in conjunction with cutting-edge approaches as part of preliminary screening, processing, and product standards with a wide variety of tools and methodologies. The majority of analytical techniques offer pollen distribution information, physicochemical data, and profiles of phenolic, flavonoid, carbohydrate, amino acid, fragrance, and individual marker components. In this study, the sugar profile, physicochemical characteristics, and honey quality of ten samples of Algerian honey from various areas were examined. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to identify the sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, and lactose) as well as the physicochemical characteristics (moisture, water activity, pH, acidity, conductivity, and color) using the Harmonized Method of the International Honey Commission. The quality of honey throughout storage and processing was not appropriately described by the moisture content alone.