An opportunity for UK honey stakeholders to discuss low cost solutions for quality assessment and authenticity with our Bioinformatics group.
The ever increasing demand for honey, in combination with the decline of bee populations worldwide, inevitably leaves the scene open for fraudulent practices which can occur at various stages in the supply chain. At present there is no single method for authenticity testing for honey, as adulteration can happen in many ways, and the majority of the tests are time consuming and expensive. The need for a simple alternative solution to this problem has become apparent.
The Cranfield Bioinformatics group recently completed a scoping project that aimed to address the lack of established quality control and authenticity testing in UK monofloral honeys through the application of rapid, non-destructive methods, in combination with machine learning.
To maximize the impact of this project we would now like to engage with the UK honey industry to develop broader follow-up projects in order to further develop, validate and test our authentication methods via application to both domestic and imported honey. This will be achieved by providing easy-to-implement quality control processes employable in field.
This workshop aims to ensure that our future objectives are clearly aligned with the needs of the industry. It will provide an overview of the work done to date, out future project aims, and opportunities for discussion. Please join us to let us hear your views.
Event programme
| 11am-12.30pm |
Welcome and introduction; Cranfield BioInformatics Group – expertise in food quality and authenticity: Developing a new testing methodology for honey characterisation and authentication; Zoltan Kevei: DNA markers for honey authentication; Gian Luigi Marcazzan: Methods for characterisation of unifloral honeys in Italy; Working with Cranfield and opportunities for funding. |
| 12.30-1pm | Q&A and discussion: Your turn to put the view from industry; Collaboration and next steps |
Who should attend
All business associated with the honey industry, from beekeepers to honey importers and retail.
