Physicochemical properties of imported and locally produced honey did not translate into its microbial quality and antibacterial activity

Abstract

Honey is often considered a good substitute for sugar. However, concerns about the poor quality of locally produced honey have necessitated the importation of honey to meet the domestic demand in spite of Ghana’s good climatic conditions suitable for honey production. Due to the increasing level of demand for honey both locally and internationally, we highlighted here the need for an assessment of the physicochemical, microbiological quality, and antibiotics resistance of microbes isolated from the imported and locally produced honey vis-à-vis international standards. Thirty honey samples which comprise 7 imported and 23 locally produced were randomly sampled from retail outlets consisting of supermarkets, marts, shops, and open markets as well as from production sites within the northern region for physicochemical analysis, microbial analysis, and antibiogram. Results of the physicochemical quality analysis showed that sampled honey (both imported and locally produced) was within acceptable set standards. However, microbial quality was poor as a high incidence of bacterial contamination and resistance was recorded in the study. The High incidence of bacterial contamination and antibiotic resistance recorded in this study gives an indication that all is not well in the honey industry and therefore the need for appropriate measures to avert possible health issues associated with the consumption of honey found within the region.