Review of methods for the authentication of honey with differentiated quality
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35588/yavfnc81Keywords:
honey, authenticity, distinctive quality, food heritage, geographical originAbstract
Honey is a product valued for its therapeutic, nutritional, and sensory characteristics that are linked to botanical, geographical origin, and form of production; however, it is often adulterated, which has generated interest in determining its authenticity through various methods. Therefore, the objective of this review was to analyze the current knowledge on the determination of the authenticity of honey with differentiated quality. An integrative review of scientific articles published between 2010 and 2025 in indexed databases was conduced using English and Spanish keywords related to the term “honey” combined with “authenticity”, “melisopalinological”, “physicochemical”, “sensory evaluation”, among others. Multiple traditional and novel honey authentication techniques were identified. Physicochemical and melisopalinological analyses are the most widely used methods to demonstrate the authenticity of honey, but they have limitations if used in isolation, so a comprehensive study is suggested. This makes it possible to guarantee a differentiated quality, benefiting cultural acceptance and valorization of the product, promoting an interconnection between beekeeping, agri-food heritage, consumers and the academic-scientific community.
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