Honey - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 126

Botulismsporesarenaturallypresentinhoney,andtherefore,itisnotsafetogiveunprocessed
honeytochildrenunder1yrofagebecauseoftheirlowdigestiveandimmunesystemdevelopments.
Honeyproducedfromlowersourcesofoleanders,azaleas,mountainlaurels,andothersmay
causehealthsymptomstohumans,suchasdizziness,weakness,andnausea(FDA2007).Honey
maybealsoconsideredtoxicwhenbeesareproximatetotutubushes(Coriariaarborea)andwhen
beesgatherhoneydewproducedbytheinsectknownasthepassionvinehopper( Scolypopaaustra-
lis ),whichisoftenfoundinNewZealand.
Microbesofconcerninhoneyhandlingarethosethatarecommonlyfoundinhoney(yeastsand
spore-formingbacteria),thosethatindicatethecommercialqualityofhoney(coliformsandyeasts),
andthosethatcauseillnessundercertainconditions(SnowdonandCliver1996).Primarysources
ofmicrobialcontaminationincludepollen,bee'sdigestivetracts,dust,air,earth,andnectar,and
secondarysourcesincludefoodhandling,crosscontamination,equipment,andbuildings.
Ontheotherhand,duringstorage,honeyisalsosusceptibletochemical,biological,andphysical
changesinluencingitsshelflifemaintainedforatleastacoupleofyears.Arecommendedstor-
agetemperatureshouldbebetween18°C-24°C(64°F-75°F)forprocessedhoneyandbelow10°C
(50°F)forunprocessedhoney.Pasteurization(170°F/sor145°F/30min)iswellknowntoaffectyeast
andthemicrobialcellsthatareresponsibleforhoneyfermentation.
5.9 GeNeraL phYSICOCheMICaL VIeW
Honey,asweetfood,isproducedbybees(genusApis)usinglowernectarandothersweetstuff
throughaprocessofregurgitation,andisstoredasaprimaryfoodsourceinwaxhoneycombsinside
beehives.Honeymainlyowesitssweetnesstofructoseandglucoseandhasarelativesweetnessthat
approachesthatofgranulatedsugar(NationalHoneyBoard2011b).
Honeyhaslongbeenusedbyhumansinvariousfoodsandbeveragesasalavoringandsweeten-
ingagent.Ithasdistinctpropertiesingeneratingheat,creatingandreplacingenergy,fromcertain
tissuesandenzymestopromoteoxidation.Forahealthybody,honeyasanalready-digestedsugar
deservesconsiderationasthemostassimilativecarbohydratecompound.
Naturalhoneycontainsnaturalsugarsandothercomponentsproducedbyhoneybeesthattake
nectarfromlowersand/orsecretionsofplants.Scientistslookingathoney'scomponentsfounda
complexofnaturalsugars,enzymes,minerals,vitamins,andaminoacids.Thecolorandlavorof
honeydependonthenectarandsecretionsources.However,therearemorethan300kindsofhoney
producedintheUnitedStatesalone,includingmainlyclover,eucalyptus,orangeblossom,etc.,but
thetopproducersofnaturalhoneyincludeChina,Argentina,Turkey,Ukraine,andMexico.
Theeffectoftemperatureandtimeofconstantheatingontherheologicalpropertiesoflightand
darktypesofhoneywasexaminedbyAbu-Jdayiletal.(2002).Theyrevealedthatalight-colored,
lowwater-content,heat-treatedhoneyshowedachangeinviscosityonlyathighertemperaturesand
adark-colored,heat-treatedhoneyshowedachangeinviscosityatalllevelsofheatingtemperatures.
Theviscosityoftwohoneydew(pineandir)andfourmonoloralnectar(thymus,orange,helian-
thus,andcotton)honeysattheirinitialandother(17%-21%)watercontentat25°C-45°Cwasstudied
byYanniotis,Skaitsi,andKaraburnioti(2006).Theyclaimedaviscosityvariationbetween0.421and
23.405Pas,whichwastimeindependentandindicatingNewtonianbehavior(ashearstressvariedlin-
earlywiththeshearrate).Anotherexperimentontheviscosityofmonoloralhoneyandsupersaturated
sugarsolutionsmeasuredat−5°Cand70°CindicatedNewtonianbehaviorinallsystemswithreducing
viscosityastemperatureincreased(Recondo,Elizalde,andBuera2006).Thehigh-frequencydynamic
shearrheologyofhoneyusinganultrasonicspectrometershowedthatitcanbeusedforthequalitycon-
trolofhoneyandotherviscousfoodproducts(KulmyrzaevandMcClements2000).
Theprocessingtemperatureandwateractivityortheinitialreactantconcentrationhasasigniicant
impactonbrowningandthecolorchangeofhoney(Vaikousi,Koutsoumanis,andBiliaderis2009).