Technological Innovations Developed by G. Madzgharashvili Annotations

1. The naturalness of honey is determined expressively using aqueous leaf extracts of various plants to which the test product is added. At high temperatures (up to 1000C), the reaction with some of the components of honey leads to the formation of water-insoluble condensed fractions in the mixture, which gradually settle to the bottom of the test-tube. This phenomenon is not observed when using food or invert sugar (obtained by fermentation or other catalyst) instead of honey, while a small amount of precipitate is formed in partially adulterated honey. This method is effective if the honey is adulterated only with food or invert sugar.

2. Preparation of inverted sugar syrup for bees to substitute honey for use throughout the winter is based on sugar solution (concentration up to 66.7 m%) and enzyme β-fructofuranosidase. The process for producing hydrolysate is stopped when the degree of sucrose decomposition reaches 45-50% of the total amount of sugar. The solution is then concentrated to 77-78m% in an open boiler at a solution temperature of up to 650C. To remove excess water, the surface area of evaporation in the reaction vessel is increased many times, without changing the standard dimensions of the vessel. Due to the high residual activity of the enzyme, hydrolysis in the syrup continues during the storage process. The time required to reach a concentration from 67 to 77m% does not exceed 1.5 hours, for the whole process (with hydrolysis) -30 hours. All these activities are carried out by a beekeeping practitioner, which reduces the cost of food received, in particular: sugar accounts for at least 75% of the cost of invert syrup, which makes the event popular among Georgian beekeepers. The peculiarity of the invert syrup obtained in this way is that it can be given to bees without any complications, even in the coldest period of the year, which significantly limits the the use of Kandy- the most expensive food.

3. A simplified method for concentrating immature honey and invert syrup. Removal of excess water from honey is essential to maintain the product quality. This is achieved in the enterprise by its heat treatment, the allowable temperature does not exceed 450C. For invert syrup concentrate, which is more heat resistant, it is 65-670C. Acceleration of the process was made possible by increasing the surface area -by introducing a stream of heated air into the product to be condensed. The temperature in the water jacket for honey was 46-480C, and for invert syrup concentrate- 76-800C. As a result, both honey and syrup were normalized in 1.5-2 hours, which is much better than the methods described in the modern special literature.

4. Method for neutralizing intoxicating (toxic) honey. In Georgia, such honey is obtained from Rhododendrons, Aconitum, etc., where toxin carrier is pollen. The proposed technology first removes such pollen by applying heated honey in a compact fabric filter and then by concentrating the honey diluted with water (50-55 m%) in a vacuum up to 81-82% during which the permissible heating temperature (450C) is observed. The toxin in honey evaporates together with the water vapor. Processed honey is safe for human health, which has been tested on laboratory animals (rabbits) by conducting long-term experiments.

5. Methods of sterilization of moths in honeycomb built include: 1) Sterilization of moth larvae at moderate temperature (46-480C), 2) Sterilization of moth of all ages at a temperature of -12-150C in the freezer. When using the method, the hive bodies holding honeycombs are placed in a warm room so that the moths lay eggs, then these bodies are ventilated by directing air heated up to 500 through the calorifier, from the bottom up. After reaching the required temperature (470C) in the bodies, the processing time is 15-20 minutes. Honeycombs are processed twice: 1) On the 5th day after the start of incubation, 2) on the 8th day. In the bodies, the honeycombs are covered from top to bottom with a dense wire mesh to prevent repeated laying of eggs by moths. When using a freezer cabinet, the processing time is 1.5 hours, with a single processing of the honeycombs.

6. A method for separating healthy wax raw materials from adulterated wax foundation (artificial honeycomb). Artificial honeycombs made from contaminated wax are usually the reason for rejection of honey produced due to external substances from surrogates (paraffin, stearin, etc.), but it is not recommended to completely reject the honeycomb built: the upper part of the wax cells built by honey bees remains healthy. To separate these elements, the honeycomb is placed in the refrigerator for a short time and then the upper part of the cells is removed with a knife blade. The purity of the latter is checked after melting with Refractometer at a temperature of 750C, the coefficient of which should be in the range of 1,445-1,470.

7. Intensive drying and storage of pollen. This product is quite sensitive to high drying temperatures and unfavorable storage conditions. Its initial drying mode (up to 450C) tends to decrease, but when the temperature decreases, drying is also delayed, which also negatively affects its quality. The one of the solutions to this situation is to dry in a vacuum. In addition, an increase in the heat index to 60-650C does not lead to an increase in the temperature of the pollen itself due to the intensive release of moisture from the material. Due to this, the dried material has a higher content of carotene and amino acids (lysine, phenylalanine), which ensured better egg production of queen bee in bee families during the lean period. When pollen is stored in an airtight bag above 200 degrees, the moth larvae begin to appear, which was prevented by storing the product in an oxygen-free space, in particular in the carbon dioxide zone. The filling of the bag is checked by passing the released carbon dioxide into the solution of calcium hydroxide (limewater). The turbidity (CaCO3) formed here indicates the end of the process, after which the bag with the pollen is stored in the dark, under storage conditions (150C).

8. Production of bee bread without honeycomb avoids the disadvantages of traditional method: purity of the end product is improved, the duration of the production process is drastically reduced (72-75 hours), no need to destroy beebread honeycombs, the cost of the finished product is reduced by almost two and a half times, production can be carried out throughout the year, quite easy to use. The process includes: multiplication of lactic acid bacteria in pollen, achieving the desired pH (4,2-3,9), use of safety measures against the development of undesirable microflora (including the botulism spores). The competitiveness of the finished product is ensured and it is actually possible to increase profitability.