Honey quality and international regulatory standards: review by the International Honey Commission

International honey standards are specified in a European Honey Directive a nd in the Coder Alimentarius Standard for Honey, both of which are presentl y under revision. In this article, present knowledge on the different quali ty criteria is reviewed. The standard drafts include standards and methods for the determination of the following quality factors: moisture, ash, acid ity, HMF, apparent reducing sugars, apparent sucrose, diastase activity and water-insoluble matter International honey standards for fructose/glucose content, the sucrose content and electrical conductivity are proposed. Also the use of other quality factors, such as invertase activity, proline and specific rotation, used in many countries, is also discussed.