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As the honey-bee gastrointestinal tract microflora and pollen are the primary sources for the honey microbial community, the aim of this work was to study and characterize the microbial transit among them. Therefore, an exhaustive microbial analysis of honey, adult honey-bee gastrointestinal tract, and pollen from different Slovakian regions and different seasons, was conducted. Microbial screening revealed that the primary sources of microbial community present in Slovakian honey are pollen and the honey-bees' digestive tract microflora, containing microorganisms normally present in dust, air and flowers. We found that the digestive tract of Slovakian adult honey-bees is highly populated by anaerobic, rather than aerobic bacteria, where coliforms, enterococci, staphylococci, Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., microscopic fungi and yeast were found. Interestingly, statistical differences were found between the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract of summer and winter bees. Pollen revealed the presence of mesophil anaerobic and aerobic microorganisms, coliforms and microscopic fungi. Among these, the most representative genera were Alternaria, Cladosporium and Penicillium . In honey the counts of total anaerobic and total aerobic bacteria, that of coliforms, enterococci, bacilli, microscopic fungi and yeasts were monitored. Most frequently microscopic fungi belonging to genera Penicillium, Cladosporium and Alternaria were found.

The decision-making process of consumers buying organic food is affected by several factors. Because of organic agriculture in Romania is growing, the objective of this paper was to analyze consumer opinions and preferences concerning organic food products in Romania. The survey involved 350 respondents. The respondents were divided into two groups using the Hierarchical multiple factor analysis (HMFA). The strongest reason for buying organic food for Romanian respondents is health care, presented by 42% of respondents. Respondents prefer to buy organic foods directly from the producers, followed by supermarkets, specialized shops and pharmacies. The prevailing price of monthly purchase of organic food is 10 to 20€. The respondents are able to pay for organic food from 5 to 10% more than for conventional food.

In this work, chemical parameters such as sugar (glucose and fructose) content, organic acid (total acids, malic and tartaric acids), total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity of 12 white wines (chardonnay, pinot blanc and pinot gris) from various wine regions in Slovakia were studied in order to identify differences among the varieties and wine-growing regions. The wine samples were examined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-VIS spectrophotometry (for determination of total polyphenolic content (TPC) and total antioxidant activity (TAA)) methods. Content of alcohol ranged between 11.50% and 13.80% with the mean value 12.52%. Mean content of total acids varied between 4.63 ± 0.09 and 6.63 ± 0.05 g.L⁻¹, tartaric acid varied between 1.62 ± 0.09 and 2.93 ± 0.03 g L⁻¹, malic acid was found in the concentrations ranged from 0.07 ± 0.05 and 2.50 ± 0.08 g L⁻¹ and lactic acid was present between 1.53 and 0.01 g L⁻¹. The content of fructose was, in general, higher in the samples from the Južnoslovenská and Nitrianska wine regions and glucose was higher in the Malokarpatská wine region. Chardonnay wines showed the highest content of total polyphenols and the antioxidant activity in the samples ranged from 51.06 ± 027 to 72.53 ± 0.35% inhibition of DPPH. The PCA analysis based on chemical descriptors distinguished the Nitrianska and Stredoslovenská wine regions. According to similarities among the wine samples, four main classes were formed by cluster analysis.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content of selected elements and physicochemical indicators of the honey of Apis mellifera. Samples of blossom, blend and honeydew honeys were randomly obtained from the Eastern, Western and Central of Slovakia. Contents of elements were measured with the use of flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS) method and anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) method with CGMDE as working electrode. The content of heavy metals (mg/kg dry weight) ranged as follows: Zn 0.25–3.82; Cu 0.12–1.37; Ni 0.06–0.60; Mg 0.10–50.43; Ca 10.32–87.21; Pb and Cd were under detectable limit (0.001 mg/kg). The physical and chemical indicators ranged as follows: moisture (%) 16.00–19.80; HMF (mg/kg) 10.00–40.00; pH 3.58–5.12; conductivity (mS/m) 13.45–99.12 and a _w 0.456–0.659. Significant difference (P < 0.05) for elements and physicochemical indicators was analyzed. Significant correlations between Cu – Zn, Cu – Ni, Cu – Mg, Ca – Zn and Ca – Mg were detected. With reference to Codex Alimentarius of Slovakia, maximal levels of heavy metals content and selected physicochemical properties were not exceeded. On average, the content of trace elements decreased in the order: Ca > Mg > Zn > Cu > Ni and physicochemical indicators decreased: conductivity > HMF > moisture > pH > a_w.

Important component of the tomato are carotenoid dyes, especially lycopene. The importance of lycopene in the diet of people in recent years has grown mainly for its pharmacological effects due to its ability to reduce the risk of carcinoma diseases and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this work was to analyze the content of total carotenoids and lycopene in 8 varieties of tomato and to monitor dynamic changes after their different treatments (heating, drying). The experiment included following tomato varieties: Bambino F1, Darina F1, Diana F1, Denár, Milica F1, Orange F1, Paulína F1, Šejk F1. We found that processing of tomato fruits into juices and dried slices positively affected the presence of carotenoids and lycopene. Processing leads to an increase in the content of carotenoids that can be attributed to better availability of these components in the human body.