Pollen analysis of honey (melissopalynology)

Pollen analysis of honey, or melissopalynology, is the microscopic study of the pollen grains and honeydew elements (wax tubes, algae, fungal spores) that honey always contains. Together they form a fingerprint of the place, used to check the botanical and geographical origin of the honey.

The 1978 method of the International Commission for Bee Botany was harmonised in 2004: 10 g of honey is dissolved and centrifuged, the sediment is spread on a slide, and at least 300 pollen grains are counted under the microscope at 400–1000 times magnification. Honey is considered unifloral if the pollen of one taxon exceeds 45 %, and predominantly honeydew if the ratio of honeydew elements to pollen grains exceeds 3. Yet pollen of different plants is represented unevenly: chestnut honey normally holds over 86 % chestnut pollen, while honey from broad-leaved lavender may hold only 15–42 %, so the conclusion is drawn together with taste and physico-chemical data.

Why this matters to you: pollen is a natural constituent of honey, not an additive, and it lets you check whether ‘acacia’ or ‘from Provence’ on the label is true. If the pollen is removed, origin cannot be established, so honey sold as honey must not lose it, except where unavoidable when removing foreign matter.