Quality evaluation of honey sold by informal traders in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Honey, a valuable commodity accepted and used worldwide, is vulnerable to adulteration and its authenticity is of great importance. The study aimed at evaluating the quality of honey sold by informal traders in Harare, Zimbabwe. A structured questionnaire was used to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of honey sellers on honey adulteration. Physicochemical properties of honey such as moisture content, pH, total ash, reducing sugars, free acidity, diastase activity, electrical conductivity and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) were measured from 20 samples. Sensory attributes of honey samples were also measured using twelve semi trained panellists. The study revealed that 75% of honey sellers added something before selling. Only 25% of the honey sellers were knowledgeable about honey adulteration. Fifty percent of honey sellers stated their sources, some had the same source and some could not clearly explain their sources of honey. Twenty percent of the honey sellers stated that they can distinguish between adulterated and pure honey. Only 15% of the honey sellers were able to explain how they store honey before selling, some could not say and some stated that they get honey from the hive and go straight to the market. Physicochemical properties showed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in reducing sugars, viscosity, colour, HMF, moisture content, density between the samples and the control. There was a significant difference (p<0.05) in physicochemical attributes between the samples and the CODEX standards. Therefore, the results from this study concluded that honey that is sold by street vendors in Harare, Zimbabwe is adulterated and monitoring measures should be put in place to remove such from the market.