Honey is often the subject of food fraud, which compromises its authenticity.

In a recent study carried out by a team of Italian researchers (Morozzi et al., 2025), a multi-instrumental approach was proposed for verifying the botanical origin of this product. Specifically, during the study, 53 samples were analysed, divided into 6 types: acacia, citrus, chestnut, alpine flora, wildflower and lime.

Gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) makes it possible to obtain unique fingerprints for each type of honey, based on volatile compounds. Data pre-processing and multivariate statistical analysis demonstrate the ability of this technique to rapidly distinguish between different types of honey, with particular effectiveness for lime, acacia and citrus honeys. Diffuse reflectance visible spectroscopy (VIS), applied to the honey as is, provides a chemical fingerprint of the characteristic pigments and a digitisation of the specific colour. Analysis of the colour coordinates reveals a clear distinction between acacia and chestnut honeys and the other types. Transmission VIS provides unique information on the yellow hue of aqueous honey extracts, enabling lime and citrus/acacia honey to be distinguished from the others with particular effectiveness. Finally, digital PCR analysis enables the quantification of the copy number of selected target genes.

In summary, the study demonstrates that the proposed integrated approach is promising for rapidly and cost-effectively detecting false declarations of the botanical origin of honey.

Bibliography: P. Morozzi et al., Convegno Nazionale di Scienze e Tecnologie Alimentari, Bologna, 9-10 June 2025, 28.