TY - JOUR
T1 - Microbiological assessment of honey in México
AU - Vázquez-Quiñones, Carlos Ramón
AU - Moreno-Terrazas, Rúben
AU - Natividad-Bonifacio, Iván
AU - Quiñones-Ramírez, Elsa Irma
AU - Vázquez-Salinas, Carlos
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - Honey is a product used as a natural sweetener and in several regions of Mexico and other countries it is also used as a therapeutic agent. Microbiological contamination of honey can occur during its extraction and handling. Due to the use and consumption of honey we highlighted here the importance of the assessment of its microbiological quality. One thousand nine hundred twenty samples obtained from 8 honey-producing states from Mexico were analyzed. From these samples, 40.5% (777/1920) did not comply with the NMX-036-NORMEX-2006 specification. Forty five percent (777/1920) of the samples did not comply with the mesophilic aerobic microorganism specification, neither did 17% (327/1920) of the samples with the specification for molds and 18.1% (348/1920) with the specification for yeasts. With regard to coliform bacteria, the samples contained less than 3 NMP/g. Two percent of the samples contained lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Clostridium perfringens was observed in amounts of more than 100 CFU/g. None of the samples from the different states contained more than 100 CFU/g of Staphylococcus aureus; Salmonella spp. was absent in all samples. It is important to avoid contamination sources and implement good hygienic practices in order to maintain and improve the quality of Mexican honeys since a large percentage of them are intended for export. If these honeys are intended for therapeutic use, it is necessary to ensure that they comply with all quality parameters and to apply specific treatments that guarantee the removal of any pathogen that may represent a risk to the patients's health.
AB - Honey is a product used as a natural sweetener and in several regions of Mexico and other countries it is also used as a therapeutic agent. Microbiological contamination of honey can occur during its extraction and handling. Due to the use and consumption of honey we highlighted here the importance of the assessment of its microbiological quality. One thousand nine hundred twenty samples obtained from 8 honey-producing states from Mexico were analyzed. From these samples, 40.5% (777/1920) did not comply with the NMX-036-NORMEX-2006 specification. Forty five percent (777/1920) of the samples did not comply with the mesophilic aerobic microorganism specification, neither did 17% (327/1920) of the samples with the specification for molds and 18.1% (348/1920) with the specification for yeasts. With regard to coliform bacteria, the samples contained less than 3 NMP/g. Two percent of the samples contained lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Clostridium perfringens was observed in amounts of more than 100 CFU/g. None of the samples from the different states contained more than 100 CFU/g of Staphylococcus aureus; Salmonella spp. was absent in all samples. It is important to avoid contamination sources and implement good hygienic practices in order to maintain and improve the quality of Mexican honeys since a large percentage of them are intended for export. If these honeys are intended for therapeutic use, it is necessary to ensure that they comply with all quality parameters and to apply specific treatments that guarantee the removal of any pathogen that may represent a risk to the patients's health.
KW - Clostridium
KW - Food safety
KW - Honey
KW - Molds
KW - Yeast
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85027440454&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ram.2017.04.005
DO - 10.1016/j.ram.2017.04.005
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 28822595
AN - SCOPUS:85027440454
SN - 0325-7541
VL - 50
SP - 75
EP - 80
JO - Revista Argentina de Microbiologia
JF - Revista Argentina de Microbiologia
IS - 1
ER -