CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, SENSORY QUALITY AND LEGISLATIVE COMPLIANCE OF MEADS EVALUATED IN A NATIONAL COMPETITION

Abstract

Mead is a traditional fermented beverage that has recently experienced renewed growth accompanied by increasing stylistic diversity. This diversification has raised questions regarding quality assessment and the relevance of existing analytical and legislative criteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and sensory quality of meads submitted to a national competition and to analyse relationships among mead class, production attributes, legislative compliance, and sensory outcomes.

A total of 79 mead samples representing three classes (traditional mead, melomel, and metheglin) were analysed for selected physicochemical parameters and evaluated by a professional sensory panel. Compliance with Slovak legislative requirements was assessed, and differences among mead classes, honey types, and production methods were examined using non-parametric statistical tests. Multivariate analysis using principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to explore relationships between chemical parameters and sensory scores.

Significant differences among mead classes were observed only for volatile acidity (p = 0.026). No significant differences were found for alcohol content, residual sugars, or sensory scores. More than one third of samples failed to meet at least one legislative limit, most frequently due to the minimum alcohol content requirement; however, sensory scores of non-compliant and compliant samples did not differ significantly (p = 0.919). PCA indicated that sensory score was not strongly associated with individual physicochemical parameters.

The results indicated that sensory quality of mead was not strictly determined by compliance with individual physicochemical limits, and the frequent non-compliance related to minimum alcohol content suggests that this legislative threshold may not fully reflect sensory-defined quality of mead.