Honey is a prominent nutritional and medicinal production of honey bees, originating from the nectar of flowers. The physicochemical properties of honey serve as indicators of its freshness and originality. The current survey aimed to assess the parameters of quality control, including hydroxymethylfurfuraldehyde [HMF], reducing sugars, fructose/glucose, sucrose, proline content, distaste activity, and free acidity, in 25 honey samples of different brands available in Khorasan Province, Iran. We used the methods suggested by the Association of Official Analytical Collaboration (AOAC, 1995), the International Honey Commission (IHC, 2009), and the Codex Alimentarius Honey Standards for the study. Statistical analysis was performed in Microsoft Excel. The obtained data indicated that eight out of 25 analyzed samples (32%) complied with all the requirements and were generally of acceptable quality. Meanwhile, 17 samples (68%) were unconfirmed by the Iranian Standard Organization (ISO), including 12 samples with a low level of diastase (<8 Schade) and high levels of HMF (>15 mg/kg), two samples with high sucrose levels, two samples with high proline, and one sample with high HMF. These findings suggested their inappropriate storage (time/temperature), heat treatment, and/or adulteration with industrial sugar. According to the results, the examined honey samples produced in Khorasan Province were not of acceptable quality, which highlights the importance of an effective regulatory framework to be evaluated and rectified periodically and accurately to maintain consumer rights, as well as public health.

Background. Regarding the increasing public health concerns about the safety of foodstuffs, the current survey was designed to argue the presence of preservatives (e.g., sodium benzoate (SB), potassium sorbate (PS), and natamycin) and also the level of salt and fungi in 148 samples of yoghurt drink “Doogh.” Methods. The enumeration of fungi and determination of salt content of samples were performed according to the standard procedures. Preservative determination was performed by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (RV-HPLC-UV). Results. 0.1% of the total analyzed samples was above the permitted level of Iranian standard for SB (0%), while PS was not detected in any of them. Furthermore, natamycin in 0.11% of the analyzed samples had more than the permissible level of Iranian standard. Additionally, about 15% of the tested samples was higher than the Iranian standard level for fungi (<102 CFU/mL). The average amount of salt in the tested Doogh samples and also in the examined Kefir samples was significantly ( P < 0.001 ) lower than the standard amount of salt (<0.8 g/100). Conclusion. In conclusion, the quality of Doogh and Kefir samples were acceptable in terms of salt content. Kefir had a significantly ( P ≤ 0.001 ) lower amount of salt in comparison with Doogh. Taken together, underlining the results of the present study, no significant public health concern would exist respecting the mentioned additives.

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