Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, Vol. 71 (2003) 275–286 APPLICATION OF DSC AS A TOOL FOR HONEY FLORAL SPECIES CHARACTERIZATION AND ADULTERATION DETECTION C. Cordella 1,2* , J.-P. Faucon 1 , D. Cabrol-Bass 2 and N. Sbirrazzuoli 3 1 Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments (AFSSA), Unité Abeille, BP111, F-06902 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex, France 2 Laboratoire Arômes Synthèse Interactions, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis – Parc Valrose F-06108 Nice Cedex 02, France 3 Laboratoire de Chimie des Matériaux Organiques et Métalliques, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis – Parc Valrose – F-06108 Nice Cedex 02, France Abstract The thermal behaviour of authentic honeys and sugar syrups (industrial and homemade) was investi- gated by DSC. To confirm the first previous results concerning the effect of adulteration on the ther- mal behaviour of authentic honeys, 30 honey samples (Robinia, Lavender, Chestnut and Fir) were analyzed by DSC and their T g were measured following a suited experimental protocol. The results indicated that this parameter was useful to characterize and to distinguish significantly these variet- ies between them. Applied to honey samples artificially adulterated with different industrial syrups, DSC showed a detection level of 5–10% depending on the type of syrup. An endothermic phenome- non occurring between 40–90°C during the heating was studied by TMDSC and a new thermal tran- sition similar to a glass-transition was highlighted. Keywords: adulteration, DSC, glass transition, heat of melting, honey, modulated tempera- ture-DSC, thermal behaviour Introduction The dietary frauds in particular the adulteration are practices in constant progress. Adulteration consists of adding external chemical substance(s) into a food product that contains naturally similar substance(s). The authentication of food products (na- ture and origin) is of primary importance for both consumers and industries, at all lev- els of the production process. From the legislative point of view, quality standards have been established through the requirement of quality labels that specify the chemical composition of each product. From the economic point of view, products authentication is essential to avoid unfair competition that can create a destabilized market and disrupt the regional economy and even the national economy. The detec- 1418–2874/2003/ $ 20.00 © 2003 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht FOOD10 * Author for correspondence: E-mail: c.cordella@afssa.fr and/or sbirrazz@unice.fr