Melissopalynology in the United States: A review and critique

Abstract

Scientific investigation of U.S. honey began in the 1900s when Young examined the pollen contents of honey to determine potential floral sources and to search for a test to detect adulterated samples. Later, in the early 1940s, Todd and Vansell examined the role of pollen in the identification of honey types. Their study followed the path of pollen from its floral source to its eventual location in honey samples.

The first extensive study of U.S. honey types was conducted by M. Lieux in the late 1970s. She examined 54 samples of honey from Louisiana, and 68 samples of honey from Mississippi. Since Lieux's studies, there has been only one other pollen study of honey samples from U.S. sources. This study by White et al. (1991) examined the chemical and pollen properties of 11 honey samples collected from regions in Mexico, Texas, and Arizona.

Although the United States ranks third in the world in honey production, much of its honey cannot be verified for consumer consumption or effectively exported because it lacks pollen and chemical statistical data. This almost total lack of information about U.S. honey types makes the Unites States unique among the major honey‐producing countries of the world.