Every honey has its own "fingerprint"
Honey is one of the most controlled foods not only in our country, but throughout Europe. In Bremen, Germany, a giant database is being created to control honeys from the EU and the whole world. It is created using a method similar to that used by doctors - magnetic resonance. The Czech Republic is also part of the honey mapping. The first company in our country to use the new method of honey analysis is Medokomerc.
Honey is one of the most controlled foods not only in our country but throughout Europe. In Bremen, Germany, a giant database is being created to control honeys from the EU and the entire world. It is created using a similar method to that used by doctors – magnetic resonance. The Czech Republic is also part of the honey mapping. The first company in our country to use the new method of honey analysis is Medokomerc.
No adulterated honeys in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe. Innovative analysis, which is being built in several recognized laboratories in Bremen, Germany, also controls Czech honeys. Collected honey samples, together with statistical data, can now trace the tested honey to its place of origin and reveal its possible shortcomings based on dozens of criteria. Top laboratories can detect all this from a small sample of honey using nuclear magnetic resonance. These are then compared with a database of several thousand authentic reference samples in terms of geographical origin and type.
Fingerprints of Czech Honeys It is the best control method that currently exists for honey in Europe. "We started using this method on our packaged honeys years ago. The principle is that 38 chemical substances are checked in the honey, and a database of all honeys is created worldwide, divided according to the country of origin and according to the individual types of honey. Certain types of honey have characteristic properties of these substances, and statistically processed values form the result of whether the honey is okay or not. Each honey has something like a fingerprint," says Milan Špaček from Medokomerc. According to Špaček, laboratories are now also preparing a database of Czech honeys.
From a Drop of Honey Today, common honey testing reveals known risk factors from antibiotics, foreign admixtures and sweeteners to pesticides. The new method, developed by Bruker BioSpin GmbH, Alnumed and QSI in Germany, called Honey Profiling™, can detect the most possible defects in honey, which means the opposite system to date. "The test for 38 substances is to prove whether the substances listed in the honey are in accordance with ordinary honey, and anomalies falling outside the statistical range of real honeys are marked as adulterated honeys. Existing tests so far rather solve the opposite - they only look for prohibited substances that are known to appear in honey based on the addition of foreign admixtures and foreign syrups," explained Milan Špaček.
At this moment, QSI has collected thousands of samples from 55 countries from all continents for the method and has done over 50,000 analyses on honey samples for statistical evaluation bases. The costs for the database have so far climbed to 2 million dollars. Samples of honey from China and Europe were also under scrutiny. "This method will allow us to distinguish the best honeys from all over the world. This is important because there are areas in the world that have top honey thanks to a unique flora and are something like champagne among sparkling wines. Qualitatively excellent honeys come from Brazil and Chile, for example," Špaček concluded.
Honey Profiling™ examines the presence of these substances in honey:
- glucose + fructose
- fructose/glucose
- fructose
- glucose
- saccharose
- turanose
- maltose
- melizitose
- maltotriose
- gentiobiose
- raffinose
- mannose
- Citric acid
- Malic acid
- Quinic acid
- alanine
- Aspartic acid
- glutamine
- leucine
- proline
- valine
- tyrosine
- phenylalanine
- 3-phenyllactic acid
- Dihydroxyacetones (DHA)
- Kynurenic acid
- Methylglyoxal (MGO)
- Shikimic acid
- 2,3-butanediol
- 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)
- Acetic acid
- acetoin
- ethanol
- Lactic acid
- Formic acid
- fumaric acid
- Pyruvic acid
- Succinic acid
Mandatory analyses:
- Pollen analysis / sensory analysis
- General quality parameters (water content, HMF, diastase, pH, acidity, conductivity)
- HPLC-sugar spectrum (widely used and accepted standard method)
Risk-based analyses:
- EA-IRMS (AOAC 998.12) for the detection of C4-sugar additives, e.g. from cane and corn syrup
- Oligosaccharides
- Foreign enzymes (residues from the production of starch-based syrups)
- Fructofuranosidases
- fAmyP (foreign alpha-amylase)
- Thermostable enzymes
- Specific marker for sugar sugar (SM-B, C3 sugar)