An emerging application of gamma irradiation in reducing higher levels of hydroxymethyl furfural (toxic hazard) in date syrup and enhancing the microbial and nutritional quality.

Date syrup is a very rich nutritional and medicinal product. It can be used alone or mixed with other food products. Now, it is widely used as a natural sweetener instead of harmful sugar in several food products. However, date syrup contains higher levels of 5-hydroxyl methyl furfural (5-HMF) (heat-induced toxicant). HMF is normally formed during processing via Maillard reaction as a result of heating. Thus, the present study aims at investigating the effect of gamma irradiation in reducing HMF content and improving the quality properties of date syrup. Date syrup samples (commercial) were irradiated at different doses (15, 20 and 25 kGy). HMF content was determined using the HPLC method. The obtained results showed that γ-irradiation reduced the toxic compound (HMF) in date syrup, where irradiation dose (20 kGy) recorded the lowest HMF level (1956.40 mg/kg) with a reduction percentage of 46.96% compared to the non-irradiated sample. While the non-irradiated sample revealed the highest level of HMF and bacterial growth. Therefore, γ-irradiation is considered an effective treatment that reduces HMF using a particular dose (20 kGy) and prevents microbial growth (20-25 KGy). Furthermore, it may increase the nutritional value by increasing minerals' bioavailability (15 kGy).