Determination of botanical origin of Canadian honey products using Raman spectroscopy

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With high nutritional values and well-studied health benefits, honey has attracted extensive public attention and**become an important agri-food commodity worldwide. Since their commercial values and health benefits vary**among products derived from different botanical origins, intentional fraudulent labeling of botanical origin of**honey is highly prevalent. Current methods for identification of botanical origin are time-consuming,**labor-intensive, and not user-friendly. The objectives of this collaboration between UBC Food Safety and**Health Engineering Laboratory and Worker Bee Honey Company, a honey company located in BC, are as**follows: 1) to differentiate Canadian unifloral honeys by their botanical origins based on Raman spectral**features and chemometric models; 2) to quantify botanical sources in Canadian polyfloral honeys based on**Raman spectral features and chemometric models. Honey samples will be directly collected from hives by**Worker Bee Honey Company across Canada and the botanical origin of the honey will be identified based on**the surrounding vegetation. Raman spectra of honey samples will be directly recorded with no sample**preparation, followed by constructing chemometric models for clustering, classification and quantification**analyses. A reference Raman spectral library for Canadian honey can therefore be generated and used for the**authentication of botanical origin of Canadian honey products. Overall, this study is positioned to benefit the**honey producers in Canada by developing a rapid, accurate and user-friendly method for the authentication of**honey products.