Comparison of methods for determining moisture content of citrus and eucalyptus Brazilian honeys by refractometry

The official method in Brazilian legislation for determining moisture conte nt in honey is the one established by the Association of Official and Analy tical Chemists (AOAC). Recently, the European Honey Commission (EHC) propos ed a modification of this method suggesting a pre-treatment for crystallize d honey samples. The objectives of the present work were: to study by facto rial design the influence of pre-treatment and physical state of sample on moisture content determined by refractometry; to choose the better procedur e and determine the average value of moisture content of 50 citrus and euca lyptus honey samples. Samples were collected in Sao Paulo State, Brazil dur ing 1996-1998. An Abbe Refractometer thermostatted at 20 degreesC was used and the pre-treatment was done in a water bath at 50 degreesC until crystal dissolution. The effects of the variables of factorial design (pre-treatme nt and physical state) were significant at 95% level. Results of this desig n showed that the use of the pre-treatment, suggested by EHC, is superior f or analysis of liquid and crystallized honey samples. The moisture values o btained for eucalyptus were higher than those for citrus honey samples inde pendent of the analysis method used. (C) 2001 Academic Press.