EFFECT OF IRRADIATION IN HONEY INOCULATED WITH Bacillus sporothermodurans

Abstract

Honey is a natural viscous product widely used for nutritional and medicinal purposes. Although it’s a food that presents a high degree of resistance against the growth of microorganisms is not a sterile medium. Spore-forming bacteria, such as Clostridium botulinum, are present in honey and it’s the only recorded source of food carrier of the agent that causes childhood botulism. The steps of honey processing do not include the heat treatment for its commercial sterility, due to the application of heat increase the presence of hydroxymethylfurfural. Food irradiation is a method of preservation that can be applied in the processing of honey by not physically altering the appearance, shape or temperature of the product. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation on honey inoculated with Bacillus sporothermodurans spores. The inoculation of 106 CFU.mL-1 of lyophilized culture of this bacterium in the honey samples was carried out and the irradiation of the samples at 5, 10 and 15 kGy doses was carried out. After irradiation, the samples were incubated at 30o C for 72 h in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) agar. The count present reduction of one logarithmic cycle in the number of colonies in the 5 kGy irradiated honeys. In the samples irradiated with doses of 10 and 15 kGy there was no microbial growth and spore germination. It’s concluded that irradiation constitutes an excellent conservation method, which can be used to guarantee the microbiological quality of the honey.