Effect of irradiation on Brazilian honeys' consistency and their acceptability

Abstract

Contamination of bee products may occur during packing or even during the process of collection. Gamma irradiation was found to decrease the number of bacteria and fungi. However, little information is available on the effects of gamma irradiation on viscosity which is an important property of honey. In this work the viscosity of two varieties of Brazilian honey was measured when they were irradiated at 5 and 10 kGy. The viscosity was measured at four temperatures (25 C, 30 C, 35 C and 40 C) for both samples and compared with control and within the doses. The sensory evaluation was carried on for the parameters color, odor, taste and consistency, using a 9-point hedonic scale. All the data were treated with a statistical tool (Statistica 5.1, StatSoft, 1998). The viscosity was not impaired significantly by gamma irradiation in doses 5 and 10 kGy (po0.05). The effect of gamma irradiation on sensorial characteristics (odor, color, taste and consistency) is presented. The taste for Parana type indicated a significant difference among irradiation doses (po0.05) but the higher value was for 5 kGy dose, demonstrating the acceptability for this case. The Organic honey presented the taste parameter for 10 kGy, significantly lower than the control mean but it did not differ significantly from the 5 kGy value.