Honey fermentation

The water content in honey is generally less than 20%. Any excess of water can be removed by centrifugation or vacuum evaporation. If water is artificially added into honeys, it can cause honey fermentation. The water content in honey needs to be in a normal range such as 15.5-18.6% as recommended by the Eastern Apicultural Society of North America. 

Grape and apple juices usually contain all of the trace nutrients required by Saccharomjces for fermentation of sugars to alcohol. Other fmit and diluted honey, as well as barley malt and rice extract, frequendy need additions of nitrogen, phosphoms, and potassium compounds, together with some autolyzed yeast to faciUtate the yeast growth necessary for fermentation. Stimulation oiy4.cetobacter frequendy requires the addition of autolyzed... 

Highly diluted honey is unlikely a realistic adulteration practice. Honey water content can naturally be lower than 13.6% or higher than 23% based on the source of the honey, climate conditions, and other factors. Fermentation does not usually become a problem in honeys if water content is less than 18%. 

The amount of organic acids in honey is less than 0.5%. Organic acids can be used as an important indicator of organoleptic properties like color and flavor and physical and chemical properties such as pH, acidity, and electrical conductivity (Crane, 1990). The organic acids in honey also have antibacterial and antioxidant activities (Gheldof et ah, 2002 Weston et ah, 1998). Organic acids in honey can be used as fermentation indicators, or for the treatment of Varroa mite infestation (Calderone, 2000 Mutinelli et ah, 1997) and discriminating between honeys based on their... 

Phenol has been reported at concentrations of 7 and 28.6 ppm in smoked summer sausage and smoked pork belly, respectively (EPA 1980), and was identified but not quantified in mountain cheese (Dumont and Adda 1978), fried bacon (Ho et al. 1983), fried chicken (Tang et al. 1983), and black fermented tea (Kaiser 1967). Phenol has also been found in honey at concentrations ranging from 0 (detection limit 0.1 ppm) to 19 ppm (Spoms 1981). It was present each time the honey was collected with phenol-treated boards. 

Fumidil-B manufactured by Abbott Laboratories is the water soluble bicyclohexylammonium salt of the antibiotic fumagillin produced by the fermentation of Aspergillus fumigatus and is used world-wide for the prevention and control of Nosema apis, a disease in adult honey bees. The drug attacks the actively multiplying disease producing protozoan parasites in the gut of the adult bee. 

Acidophilus milk is a sharp, harsh, acidic cultured milk produced by fermenting whole or skim milk with active cultures of Lactobacillus acidophilus. Honey, glucose, and tomato juice may be added as nutrients to stimulate bacterial growth and contribute flavor. Plain acidophilus milk has the same composition as whole milk or skim milk, except that part of its lactose is converted to 0.6 to 1% lactic acid by the culture organisms. Speck (1976), who proposed the addition of L. acidophilus to pasteurized milk (sweet acidophilus milk), described the beneficial effects of implanting the organisms in the human intestines. 

JF Gallander (2). In honey, on the other hand, the presence of not small quantities of ethanol is an indication of undesired fermentations which damage the product. (Reprinted from Ref. 1, p. 551, by courtesy of Marcel Dekker Inc.)... 

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