engleski

Beeswax adulteration issue: aspects of contamination and outcome

Adulteration has been one of the main quality issues of beeswax production and represents a long-term and increasing problem worldwide. However, there are still no internationally standardized analytical methods or legislation regulating beeswax authenticity control. This problem is not referring only to the aspects of uncontrolled contamination via comb foundation trade but also to the fact that adulterants are being accumulated in the beekeeping technology through comb foundation production process. After developing an analytical procedure for routine beeswax adulteration detection using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy coupled with attenuated total reflectance recording technique (FTIR-ATR), we have conducted a systematic monitoring of the situation on the comb foundation international market in the period from 2014 to 2016. The results revealed that more than 70% of analyzed samples were adulterated with paraffin (other adulterants were observed sporadically). An amount of paraffin that remains in the honeycomb built on adulterated foundations, after its full construction and melting was also assayed in order to determine residual quantities. It was observed that in average >50% of paraffin remains in the newly built and melted raw wax material. Such material is commercially being used for further comb foundation production and thus, re-enters the beekeeping technology by insertion in the hives. The results obtained in this study indicate “chronic” circulation of adulterants in the comb foundation production process and consequently a large-scale beeswax contamination problem.

beeswax adulteration; comb foundations; contamination aspects; paraffin; residual quantities

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