Diversity of xerotolerant and xerophilic fungi in honey. Diversity of xerotolerant and xerophilic fungi in honey

Honey is a natural sweetener produced by honey bees (insects pertaining to the genus Apis of the order Hymenoptera) from the nectar (blossom honey or nectar honey) or from secretions of living plants (honeydew honey), produced directly or by the sucking activity of insects (of the order Hemiptera), before collection, transformation by combining with bee’s specific substances, placement, dehydration, storage and leaving in the honey comb to ripen and mature. Honey is mostly composed by monosaccharides (dextrose and fructose), with a concentration not lower than 60 g/100 g, and less amount of oligosaccharides, organic acids, enzymes (diastase [amylases)] and invertase [α-glucosidase]) and solid particles. Disaccharides (from dextrose and fructose) can be present at up to 10-15 %. The hydroxymethylfurfural (a heterocyclic compound indicator of heating or storage at elevated temperatures), after processing and/or blending, shall be a concentration not more than 40 mg/kg. This is because, for most of worldwide food legislation, honey must be an unprocessed raw agricultural product, with limited modifications to its chemical composition.