Processing of honey using polymeric microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes

Attempts were made to examine the rejection of enzymes in honey (50% diluted with water) with various molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes and the effectiveness of these membranes in eliminating yeast cells. The permeates of 25 000, 50 000 and 100 000 MWCO membranes did not show any diastase activity indicating that these UF membranes completely rejected amylases. The average permeate flux obtained with these membranes was between 0.90 and 1.15 kg/(m(2) h). Membrane processing completely removed yeast cells that would result in improved stability of the processed honey. These studies also revealed that it is possible to produce clarified honey and enzyme enriched honey using a combination of microfiltration and UF membranes in the process. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.