Chromatographic analysis of sugars applied to the characterisation of monofloral honey.

The control of the floral quality of honey has become a priority issue as a result of the number of abuses observed and the relative ease of getting around existing control methods. We conducted chromatographic analyses of honey sugars to determine new criteria for authenticating an origin. The work involved creating databases by analysing a large number of authentic honeys from seven monofloral varieties, followed by statistical processing of the results by a principal components analysis. Differences in composition could thus be demonstrated, such as the presence of trisaccharides in fir honey, that provide an additional tool for authenticating unknown commercial honeys.