Alternatives to official analytical methods used for the water determination in honey

A modified Karl Fischer (KF) titration method (measurements at 50 degreesC instead of room temperature) for the precise determination of the water con tent in honey has been developed together with the adjustment of a drying m ethod using an infrared (IR) technique. The results obtained by this IR met hod applying a temperature between 98-100 degreesC were found to be very si milar to those obtained by the KF technique. In the second part of the stud y, the water concentration was determined in 39 authentic honey samples fro m various geographical and botanical origins using four different technique s: KF titration, refractive index measurements, official oven-drying method and a special oven method. Significant differences could be observed (maxi mum differences were in the range 0.9-5.1% absolute). The results obtained by KF titration were found to have the lowest standard deviations. With the exception of a few honey varieties., this method led to the highest values . (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.