Three follow training of trainers’ course on honey quality control in Nairobi |17 December 2021

During the training

Three technicians from the Biochemical Testing Services Division of the Seychelles Bureau of Standards (SBS) recently followed a two-week training of trainers’ course on honey quality control at the African Reference Laboratory for Bee health at the ICIPE, Duduville Campus, Nairobi, Kenya.

The three technicians, who followed the Training of Trainers Course on Honey Quality Control under the ICIPE-IFAD-ALFIS Project Phase 11 organised by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) are Cliff Barra,   Chantal Camille and Doreen Hardy.  

The training covered theory and practical aspects of honey quality control based on Codex Standard for honey.

Many ancient plant-derived products such as honey are currently regaining popularity in the field of medicine. Honeybee honey (HBH) has functional properties, which are closely interconnected to the floral source, that help enhance human health. The global honey market was valued at about seven billion US dollars in 2019, and is projected to reach over 11 billion US dollars by 2027, thus necessitating the need to search for newer and more beneficial honeys with novel modes of action. Africa produces between 45,000 and 50,000 tonnes of honey per year with Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania being the leading exporters on the continent. Their major markets within the continent include Nigeria and South Africa and externally they are sold both in Europe and Asia.

Honey is processed by bees from nectar of blossoms or from exudates of plants and trees. The forager bee collects and temporarily stores the nectar or exudate in the honey stomach where it is mixed with gland secreted enzymes which break down complex sugars (sucrose) into dextrose and levulose, i.e. glucose and fructose respectively.

This mixture is then passed onto a house bee which may regurgitate and re-drink it a number of times, further breaking down the complex sugars, before it is deposited in the comb cell to mature. The simple sugars in honey such as fructose and glucose are efficient for utilisation in energy generation because they are readily absorbed. In addition, HBH is rich in polyphenols such as flavonoids and phenolic compounds, which are plant-derived secondary metabolites.

Most of these compounds are natural antioxidants, which help lessen the increasingly reported threats of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart related conditions, through removal of the damaging free radicals. Researches have also shown that HBH is effective against a number of microbes. This antimicrobial activity varies extremely among honeys, based on the botanical source, season, processing, handling, storage and geographical area.

Quality control of honey and other beehive products are essential to ensure that the way they are produced and packaged meets the legislative, policy, and ethical requirements for food safety.

The training focused mainly on the assessment of biochemical constituents and bio functional activities of honey.

The following quality parameters were covered: moisture, free acidity, electrical conductivity, proline, diastase, invertase, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), phytochemicals (phenols and flavonoids) and pesticide contaminants. Relevance of these analyses gives a general picture of the quality of honey.

Benefits of the training to the organisation and to the country

- Build up capacity to test honey.

- Safeguard or protect the consumers from fraudulent honey.

- Establish quality of honey in our country.

- Understand the specific types of honey (multi or monofloral).

- Identify the medicinal properties of the honey that will affect/define the pricing. Eg; Manuka is priced high because of its medicinal properties.

- If we know the type of bees/honey forage we have in Seychelles then the bee keepers can be encouraged to plant these species which assist conservation.

- Publication of the study can be a good marketing tool for advertising Seychelles honey which eventually attracts potential investors.

Conclusion

Honey is a product which has potential for export from Seychelles. In order to assist the industry to ensure the quality and safety of the product and to meet the export requirements there is a need to test the product. SBS at the moment does not have the equipment to carry out such tests. This training enabled SBS to have three laboratory staff trained on most of the tests for honey based on the requirements of the international standard CODEX which Seychelles is also planning to adopt.

SBS will be receiving few equipment and other resources for the introduction of some of the tests for honey quality. There is a need for few more equipment and resources for the introduction of all tests as per the Codex Standard. Therefore, participants acknowledged the need for further training in this field to get trained on all tests for honey as per Codex Standard, keep abreast of and narrow the gap in technical skills required to consistently produce accurate and reliable results for our clients.

Moreover, both parties acknowledged the market potential of honey from Seychelles and thus a concept note/project proposal was drafted with the primary aim of characterisation of Seychelles honey. The trainers have expressed their wish and support to assist Seychelles with further training and exchanges between the two testing centres.

Training will assist SBS to build capacity to introduce new tests for honey and to increase revenue generation.

Contributed