Melipona Beecheii Honey. AnApproach to Quality and Innocuityin Yucatan, Mexico

In Yucatán, meliponiculture has been developed since pre-Columbian times, where “” bee () is one of the main cultivated species, whose nest products are economically valuable for stingless beekeepers. Pot-honey is locally and nationally marketed, nonetheless, there is still a lack of safety and quality standards. Thus, in this study, the physicochemical characteristics of pot-honey (humidity, free acidity, electrical conductivity, pH, HMF, diastase activity, total phenol content, flavonoids, and reducing sugars) and the microorganisms present in samples from six different municipalities (sites) of Yucatán State in Mexico were determined. We found that conductivity ranged from 0.013 to 0.023 mS/cm, HMF values from 2.38 to 5.93, free acidity from 4.5 to 1.5 meq/kg, polyphenols from 0.681 to 3.302 mgQE/mL, and flavonoids from 0.94 to 1.466mgQE/mL. Diastase and HMF content were low. The honey parameters of physical and chemical quality confirm that these kind of products are in concordance with those from other tropical meliponii areas. Microbiological analysis reported the presence of coliforms and yeast in three of the six municipalities, which indicates poor practices in honey manufacturing processes. It was concluded that the microbiological results of pot-honey showed the need to standardize harvest techniques in order to comply with safety and quality standards.