Moscow, Russian Federation
Moscow, Russian Federation
Moscow, Russian Federation
Moscow, Russian Federation
Honey is a popular product and one of the most faked foods in the world. Current authentication methods remain rather ineffective. In this study, isotope radio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) made it possible to reveal a set of criteria that could be used to identify fake honey. The research featured 54 samples of honey of various botanical and geographical origin, as well as 25 samples of sugars and sugarcontaining additives. By obtaining the isotopic profile of total carbon and the protein fraction, the authors calculated the proportion of exogenous sugars from C4 plants. The ICP-MS method was used to assess the botanical and geographical profile based on the mass concentrations of 71 elements. The method was able to detect the presence of beet sugars; the sample preparation did not require reagents. The elemental profile proved diverse and involved a wide range of parameters. However, 22 elements were not detected (Be, Sm, V, Eu, Cr, As, Se, Rh, Pd, Sb, Tb, Er, Tm, Re, Ir, Pt, Lu, Ho, Au, Hg, Te, Bi). The qualitative and quantitative differences in elemental content were most likely associated with the botanical origin, not the harvesting location. Some samples of expensive honeys (pine, honeydew, manuka, herbs with honeydew and chestnut pollen, etc.) were rich in Zn, Cu, Al, Mn, etc. The new criteria may simplify the procedure of honey authentication and reduce the share of fake honey on the market as a separate product or a formulation ingredient in mead beverages.
Honey, food adulteration, identification, sugar-containing additives, exogenous sugars, isotope mass spectrometry, botanical origin, geographical origin
1. da Silva PM, Gauche C, Gonzaga LV, Costa ACO, Fett R. Honey: Chemical composition, stability and authenticity. Food Chemistry. 2016;196:309–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.09.051
2. Cianciosi D, Forbes-Hernández TY, Afrin S, Gasparrini M, Reboredo-Rodriguez P, et al. Phenolic compounds in honey and their associated health benefits: A review. Molecules. 2018;23(9):2322. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23092322
3. Miguel MG, Antunes MD, Faleiro ML. Honey as a complementary medicine. Integrative Medicine Insights. 2017;12:117863371770286. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178633717702869
4. Roshan A-RA, Gad HA, El-Ahmady SH, Abou-Shoer MI, Khanbash MS, et al. Characterization and discrimination of the floral origin of sidr honey by physicochemical data combined with multivariate analysis. Food Analytical Methods. 2017;10(1):137–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-016-0563-x
5. Evershed R, Temple N. Composition. How food manufacturers deceive us. Moscow: Alpina Publisher; 2017. 392 p. (In Russ.)
6. Petretto GL, Urgeghe PP, Mascia I, Fadda C, Rourk JP, et al. Stir bar sorptive extraction coupled with GC/MS applied to honey: Optimization of method and comparative study with headspace extraction techniques. European Food Research and Technology. 2016;243:735–741. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217–016–2787–9
7. Seisonen S, Kivima E, Vene K. Characterisation of the aroma profiles of different honeys and corresponding flowers using solidphase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry/olfactometry. Food Chemistry. 2015;169:34–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.07.125
8. Wu L, Du B, Heyden YV, Chen L, Zhao L, et al. Recent advancements in detecting sugar-based adulterants in honey – A challenge. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry. 2017;86:25–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2016.10.013
9. Vetrova OV, Kalashnikova DA, Melkov VN, Simonova GV. Detection of honey adulterations with sugar syrups by stable isotope mass spectrometry. Journal of Analytical Chemistry. 2017;72(7):756–760. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1061934817070152
10. Kalashnikova DA, Simonova GV. Ratios of stable isotopes 13C/12C and 15N/14N in samples of dead honey bees and beekeeping products. Journal of Analytical Chemistry. 2021;76(4):526–534. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1061934821040067
11. Talibova AG, Feinberg VS, Ganin MYu, Fedoseenko OV, Mozgovaya SS, et al. The use of isotope mass spectrometry to identify the facts of falsification and determine the place of origin of bee products. Analytics. 2021;11(3):202–207. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.2 2184/2227-572X.2021.11.3.202.207
12. Dinca O-R, Ionete RE, Popescu R, Costinel D, Radu G-L. Geographical and botanical origin discrimination of romanian honey using complex stable isotope data and chemometrics. Food Analitical Methods. 2015;8:401–412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-014-9903-x
13. Oganesyants LA, Panasyuk AL, Sviridov DA, Egorova OS, Akbulatova DR, et al. A study of the elemental profiles of wines from the North-Eastern Coast of the Black Sea. Separations. 2024;11(5):148. https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11050148
14. White JW, Doner LW. Mass spectrometric detection of high fructose corn syrup in honey by 13C/12C ratio. A collaborative study. Journal of the Association of Official of Analytical Chemists. 1978;61:746–750.
15. White JW, Doner LW. The 13C/12C ratio in honey. Journal of Apicultural Research. 1978;17(2):94–99.
16. AOAC official methods of analysis. Method 998.12: C-4 plant sugars in honey, internal standard stable carbon isotope ratio method. USA: AOAC International; 1999;44:27–30.
17. Rogers KM, Cook JM, Krueger D, Beckmann K. Modification of AOAC official methodSM 998.12 to add filtration and/or centrifugation: Interlaboratory comparison exercis. Journal of AOAC International. 2013;96(3):607–614. https://doi.org/10.5740/jaoacint.12-386
18. Oganesyants LA, Panasyuk AL, Kuzmina EI, Sviridov DA, Ganin MYu, et al. Using the isotope mass spectrometry method to detect the presence of exogenous sugars in honey. Food industry. 2023;12:105–113. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.52653/PPI.2023.12.12.021.
19. Zhou X, Taylor MP, Salouros H, Prasad S. Authenticity and geographic origin of global honeys determined using carbon isotope ratios and trace elements. Scientific Reports. 2018;8(1):14639. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32764-w
20. Stocker A, Rossmann A, Kettrup A, Bengsch E. Detection of royal jelly adulteration using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio analysis. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 2006;20(2):181–184. https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.2287
21. Kropf U, Golob T, Nečemer M, Kump P, Korošec M, et al. Carbon and nitrogen natural stable isotopes in slovene honey: Adulteration and botanical and geographical aspects. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2010;58(24):12794–12803. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf102940s
22. Oganesyants LA, Panasyuk AL, Kuzmina EI, Kharlamova LN. Determination of the carbon isotope 13C/12C in ethanol of fruit wines in order to define indentification characterictics. Foods and Raw Materials. 2016;4(1):141–147. https://doi.org/10.21179/2308-4057-2016-1-141-147
23. Oganesyants LA, Panasyuk AL, Kuzmina EI, Sviridov DA, Ganin MYu, et al. Traditional siders and perry identification by isotope mass spectrometry. Food industry. 2021;(4):55–57. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24412/0235-2486-2021-4-0036
24. Oganesyants LA, Panasyuk AL, Kuzmina EI, Ganin MYu. Isotopes of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen ethanol in fruit wines. Food Processing: Techniques and Technology. 2020;50(4):717–725. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21603/2074-9414-2020-4-717-725
25. Kuzmina EI, Egorova OS, Akbulatova DR, Sviridov DA, Ganin MYu, et al. New types of sugar-containing raw materials for food production. Food systems. 2022;5(2):145–156. (In Russ.) https://doi. org/10.21323/2618-9771-2022-5-2-145-156
26. Izol E, Kaya E, Karahan D. Investigation of some metals in honey samples produced in different regions of Bingöl Province by ICP-MS. Mellifera. 2021;21(1):1–17.
27. Sviridov DA, Ganin MYu, Shilkin AA, Il’in AA. Features of the elemental profile of honey of various botanic origins. Food industry. 2024;(10):77–80. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.52653/PPI.2024.10.10.015
