Physico-chemical parameters for the characterization of pure beeswax and detection of adulterations

Pure beeswaxes produced in different climatic regions of Spain have been characterized by the determination of nine physico-chemical parameters: density, acid, saponification, ester, ratio number, iodine, peroxide, melting point and ash content values. The official methods of analysis to determine density and saponification values in fats and oils were not suitable for beeswaxes; alternative methods are proposed in this work for both parameters. After verifying the precision of the methods and the value guidelines, the usefulness of the physico-chemical parameters to detect adulterations with paraffin, stearic acid, carnauba wax and tallow was tested: adulteration percentages of 5%, or higher, were commonly detected. Marketed foundation beeswax sheets, rejected or badly accepted by the bees, were also analyzed to discuss their quality; 25 out of 27 beeswax sheets show anomalous values for at least one parameter.