Italian millefiori honey: biodiversity in the jar

Market scenario: honey production and consumption in Italy

During 2024, the  national honey production It was estimated by the National Honey Observatory (Informamiele) at 21,850 tons, with a slight decline compared to the previous year and – for the first time in years – a contraction in the number of active beehives. The season was marked by adverse weather conditions: temperature fluctuations, irregular precipitation and prolonged heat waves hindered nectar flows and imposed costly rescue feeding on beekeepers. 78% of the sample companies did not exceed 20 kg/hive, with 42% below10 kg (National Honey Observatory, 2025).

On the front of  domestic consumption, NielsenIQ data indicate a positive turnaround in 2024/25: the turnover of packaged honey in Italy exceeds 157 million euros, with a growth of 3.7% in value, 5% in volume and 5.3% in terms of packages sold. Millefiori honey maintains the reference position on the shelves, historically representing over 60% of the references in the hyper and super channel (ISMEA, 2024).

On the export front, Conapi – the first European beekeeping consortium with over 600 members, 100,000 beehives and about 30,000 quintals of annual production – closed the 2024/2025 financial year with a turnover of 23.5 million euros (+2.5%) and exports amounting to 2.5 million euros, about 11% of the total, with European markets and Japan as main destinations and new openings in China, Korea and Canada (Conapi, 2025).

Structural pressures remain: competition from imported honey at highly competitive prices – sometimes 1–2 euros/kg compared to 6–10 euros/kg for Italian products – and weak wholesale demand continue to penalize the profitability of Italian beekeeping companies.

Botanical origin: the unbreakable bond with the territory

Millefiori honey derives from the nectar of numerous flowering species, whose seasonal and territorial variety offers a broad and ever-changing aromatic bouquet. This botanical variety is reflected in the proportions of sugars (glucose, fructose and disaccharides), in the composition of volatile compounds and in the overall sensory profile. The main production season runs from spring to early summer, with successive blooms of herbaceous, shrub and tree plants.

From an analytical point of view, chemical-physical characterization studies on Italian multifloral honeys highlight a remarkable variability in the parameters of pH, electrical conductivity and content of organic compounds, precisely because the heterogeneous nature of these productions makes each 'multifloral' unique of its kind. Truzzi et al. (2014) classified by multivariate analysis samples of monofloral and multifloral honey from the Marche region, highlighting significant differences in physicochemical parameters among the different types.

Sustainable beekeeping and quality certifications

The  Italian terroir - from the Po Valley to the Apennines, up to the islands - offers a mosaic of ecological environments where bees can forage dozens of plant species. The sustainability of beekeeping is closely linked to the conservation of natural habitats, the protection of nectariferous plants and land management practices that mitigate risks for the colonies.

However, pressure factors such as  climate change, unfair import phenomena and loss of plant biodiversity represent growing challenges. In this context, thenomadic beekeeping - the moving of hives to follow flowering – and the adoption of organic practices are strategic levers to enhance quality and traceability of the final product. The incidence of organic apiaries has reached about 16% of the national total, with Piedmont, Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna as leading regions.

Italian DOP and IGP honeys

Although multifloral honey does not have a dedicated DOP denomination as a separate variety, there are Italian honeys recognized with the European quality mark that can include multifloral types in their specifications:

• The  Honey of Lunigiana DOP (14 municipalities in Tuscany) includes varieties of Acacia, Chestnut and multifloral types linked to the territory;

• The  Honey of the Belluno Dolomites DOP and the  Varesino Honey DOP, both expressions of strong territorial identities with distinctive organoleptic profiles.

Nutritional profile and benefits of millefiori honey

From a nutritional point of view, wildflower honey is mainly made up of  simple carbohydrates – fructose and glucose, which represent approximately 80% of the composition – with a caloric intake of approximately 304 kcal/100 g. The remaining portion includes water (~18%), traces of proteins (

Scientific evidence: antioxidant and prebiotic activity

Research in recent years has consolidated the scientific interest in honey as  functional food. In particular, the Italian wildflower stands out for its higher content of polyphenols and flavonoids compared to other unifloral varieties: studies on Italian samples have measured a phenolic content between 12.5 and 17.5 mg/100 g (caffeic acid equivalents) and a concentration of flavonoids between 1.23 and 2.93 mg EC/100 g, values ​​clearly higher than those of acacia honey (Beretta et al., 2005). Blasa et al. (2006) demonstrated that raw wildflower honey is rich in antioxidants, with significant anti-radical activity attributable to the polyphenolic fraction. These compounds act synergistically as antioxidants, neutralizing free radicals and contributing to the reduction of cellular oxidative stress (Dżugan et al., 2018).

On the front  anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial, recent systematic reviews confirm that honey polyphenols – particularly quercetin, luteolin and apigenin – modulate inflammatory mediators such as NF-κB, TNF-α and IL-6, with effects documented in both in vitro and in vivo models (Ranneh et al., 2021). Tlak Gajger et al. (2025) summarized the most recent evidence on the antioxidant capacity of honey and its therapeutic applications, including antimicrobial activity and roles in food processing.

An emerging area concerns  intestinal microbiome: honey contains non-digestible oligosaccharides that show, in in vitro studies and animal models, prebiotic activity capable of stimulating the growth of  Lactobacillus e Bifidobacteria, while inhibiting pathogens such as  Salmonella and  E. coli (Schell et al., 2022). However, these effects still need to be confirmed by large-scale randomized clinical trials in humans.

On the front of  wound healing, systematic reviews confirm that honey promotes healing through osmotic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms, proving particularly effective in the treatment of chronic wounds, diabetic ulcers, and burns (Yilmaz & Aygin, 2020; Tashkandi, 2021).

Food safety and contaminants: the case of alkaloids

An element of concern regards the presence of  pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA), secondary metabolites of some nectariferous plants that can transfer into honey. An Italian survey on 121 samples of mono and multifloral honey from three regions (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, and Calabria) detected the presence of PA in a significant portion of the analyzed samples, placing the monitoring of these substances among the priorities of quality control (Roncada et al., 2023). From July 1, 2022, Regulation (EU) 2020/2040 is in force, later replaced by Regulation (EU) 2023/915, which sets maximum levelsfor the sum of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in various food matrices, including honey.

Sensory experience and gastronomic pairings

Multifloral honey is extremely versatile in the kitchen: it sweetens drinks, enriches doughs, desserts and leavened products, and is suitable for glazes for meats and aged cheeses. Its aromatic complexity makes it ideal in  pairings with blue cheeses (e.g. Gorgonzola PDO) e hard cheese (e.g. Parmigiano Reggiano PDO aged cheese), whole yogurt, fresh fruit and whole cereals.

Conclusions

Italian multifloral honey expresses the richness of a natural food product that combines  biodiversity, local culture and documented nutraceutical potentials. Its botanical and territorial variability makes it a symbol of quality Italian agri-food, while climatic and commercial challenges require sustainability strategies, qualitative enhancement and transparency towards consumers. For foodies and international buyers, choosing this product means supporting a production system that protects the territory and guarantees high quality standards.

Dario Dongo

References

• Beretta, G., Granata, P., Ferrero, M., Orioli, M., & Facino, R. M. (2005). Standardization of antioxidant properties of honey by a combination of spectrophotometric/fluorimetric assays and chemometrics.  Analytica Chimica Acta, 533(2), 185–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2004.11.010

• Blasa, M., Candiracci, M., Accorsi, A., Piacentini, M. P., Albertini, M. C., & Piatti, E. (2006). Raw Millefiori honey is packed full of antioxidants.  Food Chemistry, 97(2), 217–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.03.039

• Conapi. (2025).  Conapi closes the 2024/2025 fiscal year at 23.5 million (+2.5%). The short supply chain remains a strategic lever. https://www.alimentando.info/conapi-chiude-lesercizio-2024-2025-a-235-milioni-25-la-filiera-corta-resta-leva-strategica/

• Dżugan, M., Tomczyk, M., Sowa, P., & Grabek-Lejko, D. (2018). Antioxidant activity as biomarker of honey variety.  Molecules, 23(8), 2069. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23082069

• ISMEA. (2024).  Bees and honey – News and analysis – Trends No. 1/2024. https://www.ismeamercati.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/13170

• National Honey Observatory – Informamiele. (2025).  2024 Annual Report: honey production and market in Italy. https://agricolae.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ONM-REPORT-MIELE.pdf

• Ranneh, Y., Akim, A. M., Hamid, H. A., Khazaai, H., Fadel, A., Zakaria, Z. A., Albujja, M., & Bakar, M. F. A. (2021). Honey and its nutritional and anti-inflammatory value.  BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 21, 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-020-03170-5

• Roncada, P., Isani, G., Peloso, M., Dalmonte, T., Bonan, S., & Caprai, E. (2023). Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from monofloral and multifloral Italian honey.  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(7), 5410. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20075410

• Schell, K. R., Fernandes, K. E., Shanahan, E., Wilson, I., Blair, S. E., Carter, D. A., & Cokcetin, N. N. (2022). The potential of honey as a prebiotic food to re-engineer the gut microbiome toward a healthy state.  Frontiers in Nutrition, 9, 957932. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.957932

• Tashkandi, H. (2021). Honey in wound healing: An updated review.  Open Life Sciences, 16(1), 1091–1100. https://doi.org/10.1515/biol-2021-0084

• Tlak Gajger, I., Dar, S. A., Ahmed, M. M. M., Aly, M. M., & Vlainić, J. (2025). Antioxidant capacity and therapeutic applications of honey: Health benefits, antimicrobial activity and food processing roles.  Antioxidants, 14(8), 959. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox14080959

• Truzzi, C., Illuminati, S., Annibaldi, A., Finale, C., Rossetti, M., & Scarponi, G. (2014). Physicochemical properties of honey from Marche, central Italy: classification of unifloral and multifloral honeys by multivariate analysis.  Natural Product Communications, 9(11), 1595–1602. https://doi.org/10.1177/1934578X1400901117

• Yilmaz, A. C., & Aygin, D. (2020). Honey dressing in wound treatment: A systematic review.  Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 51, 102388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102388