Comparison of beekeepers' and analytical determinations of honey origin

Honey is a natural sweetener evaluated in accordance with Council Directive 2001/110/EC. 336 honeys from Czech hobby beekeepers were evaluated in this work. The honeys were classified by the beekeepers using questionnaires, and all samples were subjected to laboratory analysis using physico-chemical and melissopalynological methods. The honey samples were categorized by the beekeepers into blossom honeys (n=272), honeydew honeys (n=32), and blended honeys (n=32). Statistically significant differences between beekeepers' and analytical determinations of honey origin were confirmed. For blossom honey, incorrect classification was due to hight electric conductivity (39%), hight moisture (29%), low F+G (14%), and high sucrose content (0,4%). For honeydew honey, incorrect classification was mainly due to low electric conductivity (100%). For blended honey due to high electric conductivity (3.2%) and high acidity (3.2%). Our results show that although the beekeeper has a great deal of information at his disposal for the proper classification of honey, the determination of a wide range of honey contents and properties is always crucial. The cumulative assessment of blossom honeys also showed that there are more monofloral honeys in the country than beekeepers themselves identify. The 6.8% and 23.0% of blossom honey was in compliance with the definition for monofloral honeys for upper and lower limit according to Czech and German regulation.