Estudo avaliativo sobre a qualidade de méis de abelhas apis mellifera no município de Cocal-PI

Abstract

The physical-chemical evaluation of honey becomes importante for determining product quality, in addition, knowledge about the costs and investment in the beekeeping production system are essential for improvements in decision-making. In this sense, the objective was to analyze the physicochemical composition of the honeys produced by the Africanized bees Apis mellifera in the municipality of Cocal-PI. The physical-chemical analysis of the honey was carried out at the Laboratory of Quality Control of Apicultural Products of the Embrapa Meio-Norte, resulting in the acidity content ranged from 14.32 to 29.06 meq/kg vs 15.24 to 46.64 meq/kg in the production cycle. The humidity content had a variation range from 17.47% to 21.87% while in the second collection period, the variation was from 18.12 to 20.17%. The hydroxymethylfurfural was 18.86 mg/kg and 61.96 mg/kg. Greater attention is recommended for the management and good practices of harvesting honey in the region, aiming at a better quality of the product