Yesterday, the Cantabrian Ministry of Rural Development announced that it has participated in a European research project carried out by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) that seeks to identify whether honeys can be reliably classified according to their botanical and mineral compositions and thus minimize the risk of fraudulent labeling.
The Ministry had sent 30 samples of different honeys produced in the Liébana region (in the west of Cantabria) all of which belonged to the ‘Miel de Liébana’ Protected Designation of Origin. The results showed that they could reliably be grouped together based on their unique profile, while also retaining distinctive features that differentiated the brand of each beekeeper.
In 2017, the JRC found that 14% of European honey was adulterated
The European study, which used the energy dispersion X-ray fluorescence technique to analyze the composition of each honey sample, found out that the neighbouring regions of Liébana and El Bierzo produced distinct apicultural products due to the presence of manganese oxide in their soils – a mineral that is otherwise quite rare in the rest of Spain.
The conclusions of the study, which have been published in a prestigious scientific journal, according to the Cantabrian Government, attested that the Liébana honeys are distinguished by their greater homogeneity thanks to the above factor. However, honey products can also be easily differentiated among the various producers, as well.
“We produce little, but it is excellent and a great product,” said Guillermo Blanco, the regional Agricultural Minister. He also praised “the dedication and professionalism” of producers in the region in their work of transforming the raw materials into a delicious treat.
“They all have the privilege of doing their work in a land with natural resources of high environmental value, which have a very favorable impact on the final result of the food produced”.
Source: TheMayor.EU
