PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF HONEYS CONSUMED BY THE ELDERLY

Objective : to analyze physicochemical, microbiological and dirt parameters in marketed honeys, consumed by the elderly cared for at Integrated Health Center in Teresina, Piaui, Brazil. Method : the following analyses were performed: color, water activity, humidity, ash, pH, acidity, reducing sugars, total sugars, apparent sucrose and insoluble solids. Contamination indicator bacteria, mesophilic microorganisms, filamentous fungi and yeasts, as well as dirt and foreign matter, performed in the period from April to June 2016. Results : analyses of ash, pH, acidity and insoluble solids were outside current standards. Microbiological analyses did not present significant contamination. Also, analyses of dirt showed insect fragments, foreign matter in almost all the samples. Conclusion : parameters of ash, pH, acidity and insoluble solids, as well as dirt and foreign matter, indicated that the samples were not in accordance with current legislation.