{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T15:11:50Z","timestamp":1787065910119,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,13]],"date-time":"2026-06-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781308800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Honey maturity is increasingly discussed in relation to product integrity, fair trade, and the classification of immature honey production as a form of adulteration. This narrative critical review examines honey maturity using evidence from peer-reviewed microbiological, physicochemical, and metabolomic studies, combined with an analysis of international and European regulatory frameworks, including Codex Alimentarius CXS 12-1981, Council Directive 2001\/110\/EC, Regulation (EC) No 178\/2002, and Regulation (EC) No 852\/2004. Particular attention is given to the interpretation of osmophilic yeast counts, water activity (aw), moisture content, comb cell capping, fermentation, and technological dehumidification. The reviewed evidence indicates that osmophilic yeasts are natural components of honey and that their presence, expressed as colony-forming units per gram (CFU\/g), should not be treated as an independent non-compliance criterion in the absence of active fermentation. Existing honey standards define compositional and quality requirements, including moisture, hydroxymethylfurfural, enzymatic activity, and absence of fermentation or effervescence, but do not establish a honey-specific CFU\/g limit for yeasts. On this basis, the review formulates a functional maturity assessment framework integrating aw, moisture, enzymatic indicators, and metabolomic biomarkers. The proposed framework is presented as a conceptual model derived from the synthesis of the existing literature and requiring further multilaboratory validation prior to adoption in official control practice. This approach may improve proportionality in honey quality assessment and reduce the risk of misclassifying microbiologically stable honeys as immature or adulterated.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15122136","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T03:01:27Z","timestamp":1781492487000},"page":"2136","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Immature Honey as a Quality Challenge in Global Apicultural Production"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3900-7368","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Gajda","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Bee Diseases, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-1158-0693","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bartosz","family":"Lewandowski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Engineering, Academy of Silesia in Katowice, 40-555 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-7214-4097","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Przemys\u0142aw","family":"Rujna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polish Honey Chamber Association, 87-100 Toru\u0144, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9178-1540","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joanna Katarzyna","family":"Banach","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Management and Quality Sciences, Faculty of Economics, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0754-0806","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Renata","family":"Pietrzak-Fie\u0107ko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Commodity Science and Food Analysis, Faculty of Food Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2580-7954","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ewaryst","family":"Tkacz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Engineering, Academy of Silesia in Katowice, 40-555 Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Apimondia Working Group on Adulteration of Bee Products (2023). 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