QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF HONEY EXTRACTED USING TRADITIONAL METHODS FROM SOME HONEY BEARING COMMUNITIES OF KADUNA STATE

QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF HONEY EXTRACTED USING TRADITIONAL METHODS FROM SOME HONEY BEARING COMMUNITIES OF KADUNA STATE ABSTRACT Twelve commercial honey samples obtained using five different traditional methods of honey extraction, from some honey bearing communities of Kaduna State Nigeria, were analysed using laboratory analytical procedures and ANOVA statistical tool to determine the effects of traditional methods of honey extraction on the products quality parameters. The parameters determined alongside their range for the honey samples, included moisture content (15.50 – 22.00%), ash content (0.50 – 0.85%), pH (3.44 – 4.16), total acidity (0.12 – 0.37%), reducing sugar (50.08 – 54.20%), sucrose (26.61 – 28.80%), density (1322.35 – 1382.16g/L) and water insoluble content (1.30 – 1.70%) were obtained. For the microbiological characteristics; total bacteria plate count (1.7 x 102 – 9.8 x 103 cfu/g), total coliform count (1.3 x 102 – 7.7 x 103 cfu/g) mould count (2.0 x 101 – 1.5 x 103 cfu/g), while both yeast and E. coli were not detected in any of the samples. The ANOVA result revealed there were significant differences both within the methods of extraction and the percentage mean values of the quality parameters of commercial honey samples extracted and marketed in different retail outlets in Kaduna State. Although the honey samples had good shelf life and fairly – good physical properties, they, however, contained high water insoluble contaminants such as honey-wax; had been adulterated with other substances like sugarcane sugar or corn syrup; and were also highly susceptible to attack by pathogenic micro organisms and fermentation. To address these challenges, it was recommended that commercial bee farmers and honey producers in the state be mobilized into forming a strong cooperative society to easily access cooperate supports via enlightenment; retraining, capital (grants or loans) support from the Nigerian Agriculture, Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) to acquire standard extraction equipment and facilities, and the establishment of honey monitoring and quality assessment centres by the state government, among others. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY It has been reported that honey stored, processed and sealed by honey bees in the cells of their comb is always of good quality, but the different management methods and techniques of honey harvesting, extraction, and storage greatly influence the quality and marketing of the product (Mutsaers, 1991). Hence, _honey as the most important product of beekeeping both from a quantitative and an economic points of view_has been defined as the natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from nectar of plants (nectar honey), or from secretions of living parts of plants, or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts of plants (honeydew honey) which honey bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in the honey comb to ripen and mature (Bogdanov, et al., 2001). Thus, the importance and uses of honey is parallel to the history of man and in virtually every culture. Evidence can be found of some of its enormous uses as: an ancient valuable food and food derivative; as a medicinal aid for fighting infections (as an ointment for rashes, wounds and burns, and to help soothe sore throats) and diseases (as a comprehensive treatment of diabetic ulcers); and as a symbol employed in religious, magic and therapeutic ceremonies (Jennifer, 2007; Mark, 2008, Molan, 1999). Consequently, owing to the vast applications and benefits derivable from honey, the current total annual world production of the product (honey) stands at, 1,134,000 tonnes; with the exception of some counties, like Nigeria_whose production level of honey is predominantly still on a subsistence and seasonally - small_scale commercial classification (Honey Travelers, 2011), and whose bulk of honey producers widely adopt the traditional methods of honey extraction. Mutsaers (1991), therefore, further added that some of these traditional methods of honey extraction can easily damage the quality of the product when poorly applied. For instance, he stated that methods which use heat, fire or boiling of honey will produce honey that is dark, dirty and has a reduced medicinal and health values. Thus, he concluded by quoting; “After having gone through so much care and trouble to produce high quality honey, it is a pity to spoil it by poor extraction methods”. In addition, Honey Travelers (2011) remarked that unheated “raw” honey contains all the vital ingredients that give it its healthful properties and wonderful aroma; unfortunately, most commercial honey one sees in supermarkets and retail outlets in Kaduna State is not raw honey, this mass – produced honey is often heated by some traditional extraction methods, such as solar melting, to temperatures far above the normal temperatures of the bee hive (350C); in order to make the product (honey) easier to extract from the honey comb, to filter it and to package it among other reasons. This extraction method, thus changes honey’s essential composition and degrades its quality by partially destroying honey’s beneficial enzymes and boils off volatile compounds (vitamins such as Riboflavin, Niacin and Pantothenic) that account for the unique delicate flora aroma of the honey (Gheldof, et al., 2002). Furthermore, although, it is widely believed that honey, in its natural state in the honey comb, cannot spoil nor borne disease – causing – organisms, but some traditional methods of honey extraction, such as hand – squeezing and sieving, easily expose the product to direct bacteria infestation mainly through dirty hands and unhygienic processing vicinity. Thus, increasing the risk of possible health hazards, such as Botulism and Honey intoxication, to its consumers (Food and Drug Administration, FDA, 2012 and The National Honey Board, 2012). Unarguably, wholesomeness of food products that guarantee the safety of the consumers is the most important attribute of food quality (Oyinlola, 2004). Hence, in order to have a comprehensive quality assessment of any food product, it is of great necessity that the areas of purity, safety, economics, taste, appearance, prevailing legislative regulation, and consumer expectations are adequately examined (Ojeme, 1990). Although most marketers and consumers of honey in Kaduna state had been using some traditional physical techniques; such as match-stick-test to estimate the degree of moisture of honey, pouring honey into a transparent glass cup of cold water to determine its viscosity, putting drop of honey on the floor whether ants will approach it or not, to estimate its sugars level; to assess the quality of honey. All these techniques are highly questionable and unreliable. Unfortunately, not all marketers and consumers of these traditionally extracted honey can easily and quickly ascertain some of these intrinsic quality parameters of the product. Therefore, this project intends to identify and analyze the various traditional methods of honey extraction _ using some honey bearing communities of Kaduna state, Nigeria, as case study _ and any adverse effects such methods may have on the quality parameters of the product. 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Some of the most prominent problems associated with the need for the study are as follow: 1.2.1 Excessive moisture content of extracted honey; thereby enhancing rapid fermentation of the product. 1.2.2 Thinning of honey viscosity via the application of excessive heat, fire or boiling to ease extraction and packaging processes; thereby producing honey that is dark, dirty and has a reduced medicinal and health values. 1.2.3 Lack of personal hygiene (poor hand washing), and carrying out honey extraction in unhygienic environments; thereby making the product easily susceptible to germs infestation. 1.2.4 Use of unsuitable containers or extraction equipment that have not been properly sterilized or not compatible with the acidic nature of honey; thereby giving the product unpleasant odour and impure texture. 1.2.5 Adulteration of honey by the addition of corn or sugar-cane syrups, or any other contaminants to augment the quantity of the extracted product for much profitability; thereby posing grave danger to the health of ignorant consumers. 1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1.3.1 AIM OF THE STUDY The study aims at carrying out a quality assessment of honey samples extracted, using traditional methods, from some honey bearing communities of Kaduna state, Nigeria. 1.3.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The study hopes to achieve the following objectives; (i) Collect samples of honey extracted using different traditional methods: (ii) Carryout laboratory analysis on the samples collected; (iii) Assess the results obtained and compare them with the quality template of honey, as laid down by the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS 473:2003). (iv) Ascertain its suitability for both human and industrial consumption (v) Make feasible recommendations on the results analysed, where necessary. 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The study, when concluded and all its recommendations carefully implemented, will assist in achieving the following: (i) Reveal the level of conformity of the quality of honey extracted using traditional methods and equipment with the standard laid down by the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS 473:2003) (ii) Ascertain doubts about the hygienic conditions of honey – extraction – containers and other processing equipment, so as to determine whether or not the product is safe for human consumption. (iii) Honey samples(s) whose overall quality parameters determined successfully meet up with the range recommended by the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS 473:2003), can be safely used as sugar substitute in confectioneries, and as health enhancer in medicine. (iv) Adequate information about the overall quality parameters of honey samples, at public domain, will enhance the marketability of the product, and also add value to the local honey businesses. 1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study focuses on honey extracted using traditional methods Floating, Honey pressing, Hand squeezing, Solar melting (heating), and Sieving methods obtained from Ankwa, Doka, Giwa, Kafancha, Katari, Kukui, Mando and Sabon gari honey-bearing- communities of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The laboratory analysis of the quality parameters; the moisture content, ash content, total acidity (lactic acid), pH, sucrose content, reducing sugar level, water insoluble content, density, and microbiological characteristics of the samples collected will be carried out at the Departments of Agricultural Engineering; Food Technology; and Applied science; all of Kaduna Polytechnic. The result of the analysis will be compared with the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS 473;2003) for honey and feasible recommendations for further actions, presented.