Viper’s bugloss (Echium spp.) honey typing and establishing the pollen threshold for monofloral honey

Abstract

Honey samples (n = 126) from Castilla-La Mancha (Central Spain) were characterized based on their physicochemical properties and a melissopalynological analysis. The latter showed that Echium pollen type was the dominant palynomorph in most samples, representing at least 30% of the pollen in each sample. As anticipated, a relationship was observed between the proportion of this pollen and the properties of the honey. One goal of this study was to set a threshold that defines the percentage of pollen necessary for Viper’s bugloss honey to be considered monofloral or multifloral. This is a mandatory requirement in light of the publication of the European Directive 2014/63/EU establishing the regulations governing the labelling and control of honey to eradicate fraud (BOE n 147, June 2015). By analyzing how the proportions of Echium pollen type affected the physicochemical and sensory parameters of the honey, the honeys analyzed could be segregated into multifloral and monofloral honeys. The data indicates that the proportion of pollen necessary to discriminate monofloral Viper’s bugloss honey lies at 70%.