Project NAZV - Verification of honey authenticity by pollen grain analysis (QK1920344)
In the year 2019, the Department of Hygiene and Technology of Food of Plant Origin started the project "Authentication of honey using pollen grain analysis" (Applied Research Programme of the Ministry of Agriculture for the period 2017-2025, EARTH) whose aim is to create software for image analysis of pollen grains, which will also serve as an atlas of Czech honeys. The project is co-investigated by the University of Science and Technology in Prague, VUT in Brno and the Research Institute of beekeeping.
Project objective:
The aim of the project was to develop a methodology for authentic honey identification and to lay the foundations for clustering honey according to botanical origin and geographical location in the Czech Republic. The authenticity certificate was based on the evaluation of several honey parameters (pollen analysis, carbohydrate analysis including their isotopic characterisation, volatile matter analysis and physico-chemical parameters). A sub-objective was to develop software for state control purposes. The designed software and applications allow image data processing and classification of honeys into selected groups. The software is open for further data input withwith the aim to continue refining the database of Czech honeys. The results of the project were achieved by the end of the project. Within two years from the end of the project, the results will be gradually implemented in laboratory honey control.
Partners:
- University of Veterinary Sciences Brno - Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology
- University of Chemical Technology in Prague - Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology
- University of Technology Brno
- Research Institute of Beekeeping, s.r.o.
