Floral and Geographical origin Identification of Hungarian Honey With Electronic Tongue and Classical Analytical Methods

Abstract

Honey has been widely used for health care and as sweetener since the ancient times. Due to its great nutritional value and its high price, honey is one of the most adulterated products on the market. Therefore, there is a need to develop new quick measurement methods to recognize the adulteration. Almost 80 authentic honey samples of different floral and geographical origins were collected for our experiments, focusing mainly on Hungarian honey. Various analytical methods were used for the determination of the nutritional values of the honey samples, e.g. antioxidant capacity, polyphenol content, ash content, pH, conductivity, etc. These measurements aim to complete the scarcely available data on Hungarian honeys. In addition, we determined sensory properties by color and electronic tongue analyses. Electronic tongue enables easy sample preparation and results are delivered in a short time. Evaluating the results by different multivariate statistical methods, determination of the floral and geographical origin of the samples was possible based on the results of the electronic tongue measurements. The results achieved with these classifications methods have proven by building up a robust database electronic tongue can be used for origin authentication of domestic honey samples.