New honey contains 1 to 5 mg/kg HMF.5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF),

In Holland, it is forbidden to sell honey with more than 40 mg/kg HMF.

When honey is being stored at 20 C (68F)  the HMF content will raise ±1
mg/kg per month.

Only fructose will become HMF. So the rise dependent on the kind of honey!!

Heating the honey will raise HMF contents rapidly. The longer and/or hotter
it is heated,

the higher the HMF will become.



Table of the time to produce 30 ppm HMF

   temperature                           time in  day's

   30 °C        80 °F                   150-250

   40 °C        110 °F          20-50

   50 °C        135 °F          4.5-9

   60 °C        160 °F          1- 2,5

   70 °C        185 °F          5 -14  houre

>From Belgium (VIB) honeybook (1990??)


This was from a website in Holland which was referenced on the BeeL many
years ago.


Bill Truesdell

Bath, Maine

*******************************************************
* Search the BEE-L archives at:                       *
* http://listserv.albany.edu:8080/cgi-bin/wa?S1=bee-l *
*******************************************************