Quality Analysis of Sugar Beet Molasses Based on the Evidence of Reference Values of Indicators

Beet molasses is a complex of natural components of sugar beet supplemented by organic and mineral compounds formed during the processing of root crops. Each area of industrial use of molasses, for example, fermentation production or citric acid production, implies the presence of certain indicators of its quality. However, there is no information on their reliable limits of content and variation, either regulated by the standard or presented by consumers. This situation prevents consumers from choosing molasses of the desired quality. The purpose of the study was to establish probabilistically justified reference values for the main quality indicators of molasses. The object of the study was industrial samples of molasses from 35 Russian beet sugar factories of the 2019–2023 production seasons, characterized by ten quality indicators. The obtained monitoring data were transformed into interval variation series with subsequent testing of the hypothesis of compliance with the standard distribution. The calculation of confidence intervals for molasses quality indicators was performed according to the classical interval estimate of the population mean. Confirmed null hypotheses of nonparametric Kolmogorov–Smirnov (λ) and Pearson (χ²) tests, as well as similar arithmetic means, medians, and modes indicate that the quality indicators correspond to the normal distribution law. The significant correlation (according to Chaddock) between the indicators, except for the content of sucrose and fermentable sugars (r = 0.848) was not found. The upper limit of the reference value of calcium content, equal to 0.83% of CaO, was beyond the threshold level for fermentation production and citric acid production (0.8 and 0.7% of CaO, respectively); the upper reference value of the content of reducing substances, 0.65%, exceeded the threshold level for fermentation production (0.5%). The obtained reference values can ensure more efficient use of beet molasses in various sectors of the economy.