[Criteria for distinguishing sugar-adulterated honey from the natural]

Organoleptic and some of the chemical parameters of sugar honey were compared with those of nectar beehoney. Rapid methods were devised to determine the main parameters characteristic of the soundness of beehoney. It was found that beehoney containing over 7% of saccharose may be regarded as feed, immature or sugar-falsified. In natural beehoney, the amount of saccharose, amylase (diastase) and invertase mainly depends on the degree of maturation and physiological status of the bee families during yield of honey. Sugar honey is characterized by the increased content of saccharose and water, reduced quantity of inverted sugar and low diastase activity.