Analysis of moisture content, acidity and contamination by yeast and molds in Apis mellifera L. honey from central Brazil

The development of mold of environmental origin in honey affects its quality and leads to its deterio-ration, so yeasts and molds counts have been used as an important indicator of hygiene levels during its processing, transportation and storage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of yeasts and molds contamination and their correlation with moisture and acidity levels in Apis mellifera L. honey from central Brazil. In 20 % of the samples, the yeasts and molds counts exceeded the limit es-tablished by legislation for the marketing of honey in the MERCOSUR, while 42.8 % and 5.7 % pre-sented above-standard acidity and moisture levels, respectively. Although samples showed yeasts and molds counts over 1.0 x 102 UFC.g-1, there was no correlation between moisture content and the number of microorganisms, since, in part of the samples with above-standard counts, the moisture level was below 20%. In some samples the acidity level was higher than that established by legisla-tion, but only one sample presented a yeasts and molds count above the limit established by MERCOSUR, which would suggest the influence of the floral source on this parameter. In general, of the 35 samples analyzed, the quality was considered inadequate in 45.7 % of cases. Key words: honey, Apis mellifera L., quality