The colour and the sweetness of honey are the main characteristics refers by consumers when buying honey for their consumption. Consumers always believe that the darker the colour and the sweeter the taste, the better the quality of honey. This study aims to investigate the correlation of colour lightness and the sweetness of stingless bee honey with its mineral contents. Honey samples were collected from seven beehives around Terengganu, Malaysia. All samples have different colours and tastes. The colour of honey was measured based on CIELAB colour system using a reflectance spectrometry and the sweetness of honey is measured using a refractometer. ICP-OES is used to analyze mineral elements present in the honey samples. We found that the lighter the colour of honey, the less sweet it is (r= -0.77). The results obtained also shows that the lighter the colour of honey, the higher the amount of potassium (r= -0.94) and phosphorus (r= -0.94) in honey. Meanwhile, the sweeter the honey, the higher the amount of potassium (r= 0.87), sodium (r= 0.85) and phosphorus (r= 0.82). Our findings prove that the colour and sweetness of honey can only be used to estimate the certain nutritive value of honey. Even though these findings still cannot fully uncover the myth of honey; consumers still can depend on these characteristics to choose the best honey for their own consumption.

The quality of honey are naturally differs depending on its geographical origin and the botanical source of honeydew collected by the bees. These characteristics influence the physical appearance of honey such as its colour lightness and liquid thickness; which then may influence the honey attractiveness to the consumers. The thickness of honey is correlate with its moisture content. The higher the moisture content of honey, the higher the risk of fermentation, thus honey is commonly process before marketed. However, the processing methods may change the nutritional content, original taste and physical characteristics of the honey. This paper reviews the effect of five types of processing methods on the quality of honey; which are the spray-drying process, thermal treatment technique, thermosonication technique, high-pressure processing technique and microwave processing method. Overall, it can be concluded that all processing methods reviewed in this article altered the nutritional quality and physicochemical characteristics of honey. However, the different processing methods may alter the quality of honey differently. This information is very important for consumer to understand the reasons on the variability of honey quality in the market. It also will help the honey industry players to choose the best method in processing their honey and ensuring the best quality of honey can be produce to fulfil the consumers need and satisfaction.

Honey produced by the stingless bee were use since ancient times in almost every continent as food or for medicinal purposes. The usage of stingless bee honey proceeds from its composition and functional properties. Stingless bee honey has been reported to have many medicinal properties such as antiseptic, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties. Since early 20th century, various studies on the composition and functional properties of honey have been conducted worldwide and findings were tremendous. Stingless bee honey reported to have hundreds of bioactive compound. However, the composition and functional properties of stingless bee honey is differs depending on the source of honey; either influenced by the location of hive or by the species of stingless bee itself. This review provides the information on the composition and functional properties of stingless bee honey reported worldwide. The information gathered is very important to understand and to explain about the variability of nutritional composition in honey and how it might influence the value of stingless bee honeys as medicinal food.

Honey’s compound is differ depending on the types and origin of bees’ food; which are flower nectar and plant honeydew. These differences then influenced the quality and nutritional value of honey as a superfood. This research accesses the physicochemical properties and nutritional value of stingless bee honey at Gelam forest. Honey of Heterotrigona itama was collected at Telaga Papan in Terengganu, Malaysia. The location of hives is surrounded and dominant by Gelam trees. The physicochemical analysis, antioxidant properties, total phenolic and flavonoid compounds, and minerals content of stingless bee honey were investigated. The physicochemical parameters in terms of moisture, pH, and Brix were measured. The result obtained shows that the Gelam honey produced by H. itama has a moisture content of 27.28%, the pH is 3.30, and the total soluble solid or Brix value is 75.88. Meanwhile, for total phenolic and total flavonoid content, both recorded a quite higher value which was 10.68 mg GAE/g and 6.64mg CE/g respectively. In terms of antioxidants, Gelam honey shows a promising 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil (DPPH) inhibition. The four major minerals as potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium recorded values are 2036.04mg/L, 101.31mg/L, 41.51mg/L, 7.88mg/L respectively. In general, Gelam honey has a good quality and nutritive as similar to other stingless bee honey produced from another botanical origin.