The main aim of this pilot is to develop and validate low-cost and portable digital devices, based on Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) and hyperspectral imaging (HIS), for the fast detection of fraudulent practices in the PGI Asturian honey. This novel tool will be integrated into the control and inspection tasks performed by the main control bodies of the PGI. Currently, only minimal controls are carried out, due the time-consuming, high cost of scientific equipment and destructive nature of the required laboratory analysis. This new device will revolutionise the field thanks to its high sampling and throughput, as well as the fast visualisation of the analysis results. It is also noteworthy to highlight that this authenticity proof device will be complemented by other cutting-edge technologies that support food traceability, such as Blockchain, Digital Food Passport and the Early Warning System. The main target groups for this innovative practice include EU honey operators, honey control bodies, EU consumers and other related organisations such as food clusters, researchers, institutes and technology centres.

Relevance to ALLIANCE

This pilot, like the ALLIANCE Honey demonstrator [https://alliance-heu-project.eu/pilots/fighting-fraud-and-adulteration-…] is meant to detect fraudulent practices in honey. While ALLIANCE focuses on organic honey from France, this pilot looks at PGI Honey from Spain. This pilot also employs mass spectroscopy tools, which ALLIANCE has piloted in the PGI Faba Bean demonstrator [https://alliance-heu-project.eu/pilots/ai-assisted-nir-and-hsi-rapid-te…]

Country: Spain URL: https://watsonproject.eu/use-cases/honey/