engleski

ASSESSMENT OF BLACK LOCUST (ROBINIA PSEUDOACACIA L.) HONEY

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) honey is one of the most appreciated honeys on the Croatian market. This work aims to create scientifically based criteria for assessing the quality of black locust unifloral honey. Honey samples were collected from several regions in the continental part of Croatia with a moderate continental climate during four years as part of the project Center for Food Safety and Quality. The analysis was carried out at the Teaching Institute of Public Health Dr. Andrija Štampar and the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb. Organoleptic, physicochemical, and melissopalinology methods were applied. We focused on samples that best represent the problem of identification of black locust honey. All beekeepers assumed that the collected honey samples were black locust. Samples were analysed and 300 pollen grains were identified and counted with an Olympus BX53 microscope at 400× magnification. According to Croatian legislation, honey is considered black locust if the pollen frequency of black locust is at a minimum of 20 %. Pollen percentage of black locust in the collected samples varies from 13 to 27 % and electrical conductivity from 0.151 to 0.3 mS/cm. The results showed not all samples could be declared as black locust honey. The minimal criteria proposed for assessing black locust honey should be melissopalinology analysis, electrical conductivity, and sensory analysis.

electrical conductivity, melissopalinology, pollen, sensory analysis, unifloral honey

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