ABSTRACT
One of
the empirical and image products of the Republic of Moldova is bee honey. Its
assortment is due to the variety of landforms, as well as the diversity of
flora specific to geographical regions. During the Covid-19
pandemic, domestic consumers had limited access to bee honey. This was caused
by the restrictions imposed in order to organize fairs and agricultural markets
which are one of the main sources for the purchase of bee products in the
Republic of Moldova. At the same time, the
analysis of trademarks in supermarkets highlighted the preferences of
honey consumption as follows: polyfloral honey—28.57%, lime honey—20.40% and
acacia honey—14.28%. In order to evaluate the quality of honey from small
producers and highlight the specific characteristics of geographical areas, 60
samples were analyzed that included 3 types of honey: polyflora, sunflower and
linden collected from 3 different geographic areas: Soroca area (North), area
Ungheni (Center), Stefan Voda area (South). Honey samples were declared harvest
of 2020. They were analyzed physico-chemically using methods provided by
national and EU standards. The results obtained from the analysis of pollen in
honey confirm the botanical origin declared by beekeepers and allowed to
highlight the types of pollen specific to each area. Following the
determination of qualitative indices: reaction with ethyl alcohol, with
resorcinol; insoluble matter, cereal flour, gelatin and starch, it was
found that the most inconsistencies were found in linden honey. Some indicators
were close to the maximum permissible values specified in regulatory documents. The water content found in the honey
samples was quite varied, and ranged from 16.05% ± 0.11% to 19.89% ± 0.13%, but
these samples were within the limits of the standards. Total acidity ranged
from 6.19 ± 0.13 to 27.20 ± 0.03 which falls within the established norms (up
to 50.00 cm3 NaOH solution in (milliequivalents) per 100 g of
honey). According to the SIE Lab space, all samples have a yellowish tint, this
is indicated by positive values on the b* axis. However, honey samples from the
southern region of Moldova showed the presence of greenish pollen, as evidenced
by the reduced values on the a* axis. Our research reveals the quality level of
honey from three different areas of the Republic of Moldova and the variation
of quality parameters due to factors such as geographical region, climatic
conditions, botanical origin and handling or storage conditions.