SENSORY OF THE HONEY OF Apis mellifera AND CORN GLUCOSE SYRUP COMMERCIALIZED IN SOUSA, PARAIBA, BRAZIL

Abstract

Honey is known for its nutritional, therapeutic, bactericidal and expectorant properties, in addition to strengthening the immune system and improving brain function. Corn glucose is an energetic product widely used as sweetener, but it serves mainly to transform the texture of food, increasing viscosity, cremosity and softness, while decreasing the formation of sugar crystals in revenue. It has the consistency of syrup, sweet and sticky, being easily confused with pure honey. Many consumers acquire glucose syrup as bee honey and this further intensifies the mystification of honey as food. Neste sentido, objetivou-se avaliar a característica sensorial sabor do mel puro de abelha Apis mellifera e do xarope de glucose de milho afim de mostrar a similaridade entre ambos. Both the samples of honey and corn syrup were obtained from the trade in the city of Sousa, Paraiba state. The Triangular discriminative test was performed in the Sensory Analysis Laboratory of the Federal Institute of Paraiba, Campus Sousa in order to perform sensory analyses. Thirty untrained panelists among students and employees of the institution participated in the sensory characterization of such products. Each taster received three coded and alternating samples, two shows equal and one different. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the samples with respect to flavor, leading some consumers to confuse their aspects, proving the similarity among the products. Thus, it can be affirmed the need for consumers not only to pay attention to the sensory characteristics of the products, but also to the composition information contained in their mentioned labels in order to ascertain their originality, such as the Of the pure honey of Apis mellifera.