Physicochemical, antioxidant, moisture sorption, and model-predicted shelf-life dataset for acacia honey powders under different drying methods and carrier formulations

This dataset contains experimental measurements and model outputs for acacia honey powders produced using a factorial design combining two drying methods (spray drying and freeze drying) and four carrier formulations (maltodextrin; maltodextrin–inulin; maltodextrin–fructooligosaccharides; maltodextrin–inulin–fructooligosaccharides). For each treatment, triplicate measurements are provided for physicochemical properties (moisture content, water activity, colour coordinates L*, a*, b*, solubility, and yield), thermal quality indicators (hydroxymethylfurfural and diastase number), and antioxidant-related measures (total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, DPPH IC₅₀, and ABTS IC₅₀). The dataset also includes equilibrium moisture content values for moisture sorption isotherms measured at 30 °C across multiple water activity levels, fitted GAB model parameters (M₀, Cg, Kg) with fit statistics (R² and %RMS), and moisture-based shelf-life estimates derived using the critical moisture content (ASLT) approach at 75% and 84% relative humidity. Sensory acceptance results from a seven-point hedonic test (30 untrained panellists; colour, aroma, taste, texture, overall acceptability) are included. The dataset is intended to support reproducible comparison of drying method × carrier effects on measurable quality attributes and moisture-driven stability of honey powder systems and may be reused for benchmarking, sorption modelling, and formulation screening.