Use of elemental profiles to verify geographical origin and botanical variety of Spanish honeys with a protected denomination of origin

Honey with Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) could be an attractive target for fraudsters. Elemental profiles by Energy Dispersive-X Ray Fluorescence were processed by multivariate methods to classify 183 PDO honeys produced in three regions of Spain (Liebana, Granada, Tenerife). Additional honey samples (18) produced in a fourth region without PDO (El Bierzo) separated well from the PDO clusters. The manganese content was a discriminant marker of Liebana PDO and El Bierzo, that could also be differentiated from each other. Within each region, distinct clusters revealed differences between dark vs light varieties, multivs uni-floral honey and producers of the same PDO. The developed models were validated with 131 samples produced outside the PDO regions and El Bierzo. The proposed classification approach could be implemented as a fast screening tool to support pollen analysis in honey authentication. The reduced number of observations in some light honey models affected their performance.

Automated summary

The study classified 183 PDO honeys from three regions in Spain using ED-XRF elemental profiles and successfully differentiated honey without PDO from El Bierzo. Manganese content served as a discriminant marker between Liebana PDO and El Bierzo, which could also be distinguished from each other. The developed models displayed unique elemental profiles among different regions and varieties.