Leading names from the gastronomy world came together at Balparmak Campus to create the “Taste Map of Turkish Honey”. Participants at the event were presented with world-famous Raffaele Dall'Olio, Italian Bee Scientist, Honey Taster and Sensory Analysis TrainerHe received training in distinguishing different taste profiles and evaluating the sensory richness of honey.

Turkey, thanks to its unique geographical richness and climate diversity, is among the world's leading countries in honey production in terms of both quantity and quality. Home to approximately 12 thousand plant species, Anatolian geography naturally grows over 3 endemic plants. This unique flora richness contributes to the formation of honeys that offer unique aromas through thousands of different nectar sources such as thyme, astragalus, rockrose, lavender, citrus, chestnut and pine.

Turkey, which ranks third in the world in terms of the number of bee colonies with nearly 9,2 million, has the potential to be a real world brand in honey, not only with its production power but also with its biological diversity, cultural heritage and sustainable relationship with nature. The responsibility of making this potential visible all over the world is undertaken by Balparmak, which has been devotedly supporting the ancient cooperation of bees and beekeepers with nature for 45 years and bringing honey collected from all over Anatolia to the consumer without compromising its naturalness.

Balparmak Turns Honey, Nature's Gift, Into a Cultural Experience

Balparmak, which sees Türkiye’s unique geographical and biological richness not only as a part of the production process but also as a cultural heritage and narrative element, has initiated a study to make visible the labor, bees, beekeepers, geography and story behind honey. Türkiye’s distinguished chefs and leading names of the gastronomy world, such as Maximilian JW Thomae, Gökhan Sehlikoğlu, Mert Seran, Jale Balcı, Çiğdem Alagök, Faruk Şüyun, Başak Oksak, Reyhan Ülker, Hatice Ünal Bilen, came together at the Balparmak Campus to create the “Taste Map of Turkish Honey” under the moderation of Food Engineer and Gastronomy Writer Ebru Erke.

As part of the joint work carried out by Balparmak with world-renowned Italian Bee Scientist, Honey Tasting Expert and Sensory Analysis Trainer Raffaele Dall'Olio, a tasting map of Türkiye's unique honeys has begun to be created. This map transforms honey from being just a part of breakfast tables to a cultural heritage that appeals to the senses. Natural honey is being redefined and goes beyond being a traditional flavor in the gastronomy world. It is turning into a characteristic element to be told stories about and to be paired with different ingredients with tasting notes. This opens a brand new page in Türkiye's gastronomy atlas.

Throughout the event, participants had the opportunity to experience honeys with different taste and smell profiles and discover the unique characteristics of each honey. This experience, enriched by Dall'Olio's training in evaluating the sensory richness of honey, revealed the gastronomic potential of honeys from Türkiye's unique flora and inspired the "Taste Map of Turkish Honey."

“It is our duty to tell the world the story behind every drop of honey”

The opening speech of the event was made by Balparmak General Manager Ulaş Altıparmak, underlined that Türkiye is not only a producer of honey, but also a country that stands out on a global scale in terms of taste profile and diversity. Altıparmak: “As Balparmak, we are working to record this valuable wealth and document it with scientific foundations. With our work, we aim to make this unique potential visible both in our country and internationally and to add value to the sector.”

Stating that the “Taste Map of Turkish Honey” event is a reflection of this goal, Altıparmak said: “Our country’s richness in terms of honey has been largely described with general expressions such as ‘flower honey’ or ‘pine honey’ to date. However, the aroma of thousands of plant species and the traces of the geography that gives life to those plants are hidden in each drop of honey. While the honeys obtained from the plateaus and plains of Yüksekova, Şemdinli, Bingöl, Muş and Kayseri draw attention with their aromas and flavor profiles specific to their region, monofloral honey varieties produced from only a single flower species also have the privileged tastes offered by nature. The strong aromas of the Black Sea chestnut honey, Refreshing Mediterranean citrus honey, Isparta and Burdur lavender honey, Taurus Mountains Thyme Honey. Each one leaves an unforgettable impression on the palate and is a part of our cultural heritage written with taste. This meeting we held on our campus today opens up a space for us to discover the sensory, geographical and cultural layers of honey together. Thanks to this flavor map supported by tasting notes, the geographical and botanical character of honey comes to light; each natural honey becomes the voice of its own geography. As Balparmak, we see it as our responsibility to go beyond bringing natural honey to the table and tell the world the labor and culture behind it, the story behind every drop of honey.”

The Sensory Journey of Honey: Tasting Techniques and Functional Usage Suggestions from Italian Expert Dall'Olio

The event, which started with Raffaele Dall'Olio giving information about sensory analysis methods in Italy, continued with the odor and then taste analyses of 12 types of honey, consisting of natural honeys with different profiles such as Yayla, Yayla-Ova, Yüksek Yayla, Chestnut, Thyme, Lavender, Kayseri, Bingöl, Şemdinli, Citrus, Yüksekova and Çam. Speaking about the event, Dall'Olio said: “Today, we examined the disciplines and approaches of Italians in honey tasting training. Thanks to a methodology developed in Italy, honey identity cards created for honeys with different profiles standardize the sensory characteristics of the products while also contributing to the increase in their international recognition. The rich and diverse endemic vegetation in Türkiye allows honeys with similarly different aroma and taste profiles to emerge. In the honey tasting event we held today, we evaluated 12 honeys from various regions of Türkiye with the sensory analysis method. In the analyses we conducted based on criteria such as taste, texture, aroma and smell; we had the opportunity to experience the unique profiles of honeys such as citrus, pine, highland and lavender.”

After the tasting event, Dall'Olio, who provided training on honey and its uses, said; “Honey is a very functional and miraculous food. Honey needs to be used regularly. We can make honey, which contains strong nutritional value, a part of our daily routine instead of consuming it at a certain time. For example; you can use it as a sauce in your fruit and vegetable salads, or you can use it to marinate your fish and meat products. You can also pair it with cheese and dried fruits to create different flavors,” and recommends consuming honey with yogurt, which is a powerful probiotic.

Source: HORECA TREND and Balparmak

The presentation made by Balparmak Analytical R&D Manager Dr. İsmail Emir Akyıldız left behind 24 presentations from 54 countries and received the “Best Oral Presentation on Propolis” award. Balparmak Board Chairman Özen Altıparmak was deemed worthy of the “Honorary Award” for his international contributions to the sector.

The interest in bee products is increasing all over the world. Dozens of studies are being conducted and scientific articles are being published to understand the benefits of the miraculous products of bees, honey, propolis, royal jelly and pollen. The third International Propolis Conference, organized every two years under the leadership of the International Propolis Research Group to closely follow all developments in the world regarding propolis, one of the valuable products produced by bees, was held in Istanbul in 2023, hosted by Balparmak. This year's leg of the conference was held in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil. At the conference organized under the title of "Immunity, Community, Sustainability", scientists from 24 countries had the opportunity to present their research on propolis.

Balparmak, representing Turkey, left its mark on the conference where the characteristic features, marker components, effects on the immune system and antitumor and antimicrobial properties of propolis obtained from different countries were revealed. Dr. Emel Damarlı, Balparmak R&D and Quality Director, attended the conference and Analytical R&D Manager Dr. İsmail Emir Akyıldız presented the research titled “Determination of chemical fingerprints of propolis samples from different botanical origins with untargeted metabolomics approaches”, while Laboratory Technical Manager Dr. Ufuk Alpat presented the study titled “Current developments in propolis extraction and processing”. A total of 24 scientific presentations from 54 countries were made at the conference and the presentation made by Dr. İsmail Emir Akyıldız was presented by the University of Sao Paolo, Brazil, which has the most scientific publications on propolis in the world, “Best Oral Presentation on Propolis" award was deemed worthy.

Dr. Emel Damarlı: “We Have Been Working to Explain the Benefits of Honey and Bee Products for 45 Years” 

The conference also included: Ozen Altiparmak, Chairman of the Board of Balparmak, for his international contributions to the sector “Honorary Award” what was deemed worthy. Receiving the award on behalf of Altıparmak, Balparmak R&D and Quality Director Dr. Emel Damarlı drew attention to the importance of scientific studies and emphasized that working together is necessary for a more sustainable future. Damarlı emphasized that Balparmak, which is the leading honey brand in Turkey and also the pioneer of the bee products sector in the international arena, has been working to bring natural bee products to tables for 45 years and that they carry out important studies for the sustainability of bees and beekeeping. Damarlı, who mentioned that bees have many value-added products in addition to honey, noted that propolis has a very special place among these products. Stating that they are especially proud to support research on propolis, Damarlı said, “Propolis is one of the most valuable gifts that nature offers to human health. We are mobilizing all our knowledge and technology to protect, develop and make this heritage sustainable.”

Propolis Usage Is Increasing!

Balparmak R&D and Quality Director Dr. Emel Damarlı stated that the antiviral and antibacterial effects of propolis have been scientifically proven, and emphasized that its use has increased by 50 percent in the last five years. Balparmak's good life brand Apitera has enriched its propolis throat sprays developed for adults and children with thyme, black cumin, sage, lemon and mint oil. Apitera Propolis Children's Spray was developed in cooperation with Balparmak R&D Center and TÜBİTAK MAM in accordance with children's taste sensitivity.

Damarlı concluded his speech by expressing his gratitude to the International Scientific Board for deeming the Balparmak R&D Center worthy of the award for its work.

Source: HORECA TREND and Balparmak

Leaders of the industry came together at the 8th International Food Safety Congress to discuss the topic of "Food Safety", one of the most important topics of the food industry. Honey, which was considered as the 6th easiest food product to produce fraudulently in the report announced by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), was one of the important topics of the congress. Speaking at the congress, the leading brand of the honey and other bee products industry Ozen Altiparmak, Chairman of the Board of BalparmakHe emphasized that, with the scientific studies carried out in R&D centers, they have made inventions that will set an example for the world in analyzing imitation and adulteration in honey. Altıparmak, Balparmak R&D and Quality Director Dr. Emel Damarlı and Balparmak Analytical R&D Manager İsmail Emir Akyıldız with his presentation titled "A Comprehensive Review on Current Counterfeiting and Adulteration Practices in Honey and Analytical Approaches Commonly Used in Detection of Fraud".

In his speech, Özen Altıparmak stated that he sees food safety as the basic element of branding and said, “In our country, we are struggling with uncontrolled honey sold openly or products with lack of control on the shelves. Within the scope of this struggle, we are constantly improving ourselves scientifically. For example; With the new technological investment we made in our Balparmak R&D Center in 2022, we are detecting and reporting products made from sugar syrups such as corn, beet, rice and agave, which are a very common type of adulterated honey in the market and can only be revealed through detailed analysis with advanced technology. In addition, we can detect the presence of food dyes and enzyme additives added to the adulterated honey obtained from these syrups in order to give the perception of real honey, in a highly accurate and sensitive format. As Balparmak, we have been able to detect whether a honey is adulterated or not through the analyzes we carry out in our laboratories for 44 years, and we offer only natural honey and bee products to the tables. However, in order for the detected cheating method to be published as scientific, it must be reportable using scientific methods. Today, with our new technological equipment, we are able to share the methods we have developed with the whole world, thanks to the hard work of our 20 engineers who are experts in their fields. The part that makes us proud for our country is; "Our Balparmak R&D center is the first in the world to find these important methods developed within the scope of combating imitation and adulteration (cheating) in bee products," he said.

We Offer Our Consumers the Opportunity to Verify That Their Products Are Natural

Altıparmak tests the bee products they collect from beekeepers all over Turkey throughout the year for naturalness on at least 4 parameters with a 100-stage analysis process at "Balparmak APILAB", which is Turkey's first and Europe's four equivalent Honey and Bee Products Specialization Laboratory. He stated that, as a result of these analyzes made with advanced methods, they present products to the table that they are 100 percent sure of their naturalness. Safe food; Pointing out that it should not lose its nutritional value, be physically, chemically and microbiologically clean and intact, Altıparmak said, “Food must be obtained, processed and preserved in environments that will not affect human health or create environmental problems. In this sense, it is of great importance to comply with the necessary rules and take precautions during the production, processing, storage, transportation and distribution stages of food. Consumers do not know whether the food products entering their homes are produced in accordance with food safety. However, transparency and traceability should be the first rule in food safety. As Balparmak, we encourage the consumer to question the product they will buy, thanks to our "TRACEABILITY" project that we implemented in 2015. With "traceability", we offer our consumers the opportunity to verify their products and access the analysis report of the products. We ensure that our consumers are sure of its naturalness and purity by scanning the QR code on our product from their mobile phone while it is still on the market shelf. We want; "The consumer should be able to understand the content of the product he takes home and puts on his table, whether the product has the quality values ​​it should have, which region it comes from, the types of pollen it contains, the plant-flower source, that is, whether the product is pure and natural," he said.

Balparmak Beekeeping Academy Reached 7000 Women and Young Beekeepers

Stating that they see transparency and traceability as a responsibility towards their consumers, Özen Altıparmak continued his speech and stated that they also have a responsibility towards bees and beekeepers. Stating that this is why the Balparmak Beekeeping Academy, which was launched in 2018, was established, Altıparmak continued his words as follows:

“We aim to support the recruitment of women and young people in rural development areas into beekeeping and the sustainability of the beekeeping profession. To date, we have managed to reach 700 women and young people with face-to-face training and more than 700 women and young people with online training. In our trainings, in addition to producing value-added bee products more efficiently and with higher quality, we try to correct "misconceptions" in order to increase efficiency and quality in beekeeping with modern beekeeping techniques training. "Thanks to our training, we aim to encourage the beekeeping profession to younger generations and increase household incomes," he said.

Source: HORECA Trend and Balparmak