ORIGINAL ARTICLE Determination of physicochemical properties of multifloral honeys stored in different containers Fahad Aljuhaimi 1 | Mehmet Musa € Ozcan 2 | Kashif Ghafoor 1 | Elfadil E. Babiker 1 1 Department of Food Science & Nutrition, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 16285, Saudi Arabia 2 Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Selcuk University, Konya, 42031, Turkey Correspondence Mehmet Musa € Ozcan, Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Selcuk Universty, Konya, 42031, Turkey. Email: mozcan@selcuk.edu.tr Funding information International Scientific Partnership Program ISPP at King Saud University, Grant/Award Number: ISPP# 0015 Abstract In comparison with the initial values, acidity and 5-(hydroxy-methyl)-2-furaldehyde (HMF) values of all honey samples increased during storage. The total phenol contents of honey were decreased from 286.2 to 108.6 mg GAE/kg during 9 months of storage in white colored container. In addi- tion, total phenol contents of honey sample stored in tin container ranged from 294.7 to 258.6 mg GAE/kg (p < .05). While radical scavenging activity values of honey samples stored in amber col- ored container during storage are measured as 78.6 g/L, IC 50 , 77.9 g/L, IC50, and 76.1 g/L, IC 50 , these activity values were determined as 84.9 g/L, IC 50 , 80.7 g/L, IC 50, and 75.2 g/L, IC 50 in tin container (p < .05), respectively. While acidity values of honey samples stored in white bottle range from 23.6 (3th month) to 25.7% (9th month), it varied from 20.6 (3th month) to 21.6% (9th month) in honey sample stored in amber colored container during storage. Practical applications Different honeys are produced in different parts of Turkey. The known honeys are pine, citrus, and chestnut honey. Various flower honeys are produced in these and other regions. HMF forma- tion is considered as a bed result of storage and heating. 1 | INTRODUCTION From ancient times, popularity of honey is increasing due to their poten- tial role in contributing to human health (Bertoncelj, Dobersek, Jamnik, & Golob, 2007; Qamer, Muzaffar, Ali, & Sahkoori, 2009; Socha, Juszczak, Pietrzyk, & Fortuna, 2009). Antioxidant activity, flavonoids, total phenol, electrical conductivity, HMF, and diastase activity are important parame- ters in storage. The honey constituents like phenolics, flavonoid agly- cones, carotenoids are responsible for their bioactive properties like antioxidative effect. Also, the compositions of honey and antioxidative effect change depending on the seasonal and environmental factors and nectar sources (Lachman, Orsak, Hejtmankova, & Kovarova, 2010). The electrical conductivity is the indication of ionizable acids and compounds in aqueous solution, and is a good criterion used at the identification of honey quality and purity (Acquarone, Buera, & Elizalde, 2007). 5-Hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde is used as another indicator to recog- nize the honey quality. In addition, both pH and HMF in honeys are con- sidered as important parameters to determine the properties of honey samples (Diminsk, Kuka, Kuka, &  Cakste, 2006). In storage, HMF forma- tion is considered as a bed result of storage and heating (Morales, Sanz, Martin-Alvareza, & Corzo, 2009). According to the European Union (Council Directive 2001/110, 2001), maximum HMF limit of 40 mg/kg honey as a deterioration and heat-treatment indicator was determined. Physicochemical properties of honeys change depending on the han- dling process during harvesting and storage (Turkmen, Sari, Poyrazo glu, & Velioglu, 2006).The parameter of pH is related to fermentation pro- cess due to storage (Gomes, Feas, Iglesias, & Estevinho, 2011; Silva et al., 2013). Also, the moisture content of honey is an important param- eter to determine the quality and shelf-life of honeys during storage (Finola, Lasagno, & Marioli, 2007). Several studies were conducted on antioxidant activity, phenols and flavonoid contents of honeys (Berton- celj et al., 2007; Kaskoniene, Maruska, & Kornysova, 2009; Socha et al., 2009). But limited studies were conducted or storage of honeys (Saric et al., 2012; Turkmen et al., 2006). The aim of present study was to determine and to compare the moisture content, pH, electrical conduc- tivity, HMF, and radical scavenging activities of multifloral honey stored in several containers like glass, plastic, and tin in room temperature. 2 | MATERIAL AND METHODS 2.1 | Material About 10 kg multifloral honey sample was provided from beekeepers in Antalya in Turkey in 2015. Honey sample was transferred in cool J Food Process Preserv. 2017;e13379. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.13379 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jfpp V C 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. | 1 of 6 Received: 6 January 2017 | Revised: 29 March 2017 | Accepted: 7 April 2017 DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.13379