Assessment of Physicochemical and Microbiological Characteristics of Honey in Southwest Ethiopia: Detection of Adulteration through Analytical Simulation

This study aimed to evaluate the quality of honey in the supply chain from the Gera district to Jimma town in southwest Ethiopia and develop a predictive model to detect adulteration. A preliminary survey revealed that poor handling practices and adulteration negatively impacted honey's physicochemical and microbial quality. For laboratory analysis, 268 honey samples were collected from households, cooperatives, chira markets, Agaro markets, and Jimma markets. They were mixed separately to create composite samples representing different value chain actors. Laboratory results indicated that honey samples from supply chain actors confirmed significant differences (p 90%) and predictive capacity for detecting adulteration with sugar syrup