IJHARS is building a Polish Honey Database: tests of varietal honeys from the country’s regions are to help detect origin fraud
On 4 September 2026 IJHARS announced the creation of a Polish Honey Database — a set of parameters characteristic of honeys from different regions of Poland, broken down by variety. Beekeepers can register their apiaries free of charge for sampling.
- Varietal honeys (lime, acacia, buckwheat, rapeseed), multifloral honey and honeydew honey will be tested. The analyses cover the parameters of the Polish agriculture minister’s regulation of 3 October 2003 on detailed commercial quality requirements for honey, as well as physico-chemical, biological and biochemical parameters determined with the latest analytical techniques.
- Samples are taken by representatives of agricultural advisory centres — beekeepers cannot hand them in to IJHARS or a laboratory themselves. At most one sample of each type of honey is taken per apiary; a sample consists of two glass jars of at least 0.9 l and a small plastic container (about 100 ml).
- The results will not be passed on to beekeepers or used for official controls or penalties; they will be processed statistically and published without apiary data. As climate and weather — temperature, rainfall, sunshine, length of flowering — change the parameters tested, beekeepers provide information on the honey and the bees, their feeding, treatment and movement when samples are taken.
- The aim is to be able to identify honey from specific regions of Poland and to counter fraud concerning the country of origin, in the interest of fair competition among beekeepers. IJHARS is building the database together with beekeeping organisations, beekeepers and researchers.
Source: IJHARS — Stwórzmy razem Bazę Polskich Miodów (04.09.2026)