COMPARATIVE STUDY OF WATER CONTENT IN HONEY PRODUCED IN DIFFERENT YEARS

Abstract

One hundred thirty-three honey samples of different floral origin from two different production years (2017 and 2018) from Serbia were examined in order to determine water content. The water content in honey affects physical, microbiological, sensory properties, and commercial value of honey. The water content in all examined honey samples produced in 2017 (56) was below maximum permissible level set by local regulations for honey. Out of the total of 77 tested honey samples that were produced in 2018, 3 samples (3.9%) did not comply with the provisions of the Regulation. By analysing honey samples originating from 2017, there was a significant difference between the water contents betwen linden honey and honeydew (p = 0.0027). The same result was obtained based on the water content in different honey types from the year 2018 (p = 0.00022). Using the F test, it has been shown that there is no significant difference in the water content between certain types of honey produced in these two years ( 2017 and 2018).