BIOLMIEL 2024 PRESS RELEASE

On the 21 st and the 22 nd of November, the 2024 edition of BIOLMIEL, the international award dedicated to
organic honey, was held in Bari (Italy), which this year saw the participation of 63 beekeepers with 211
honeys from Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain, with 95 Italian participating
samples and 116 honeys coming from other European countries. The most represented foreign beekeepers
were the Greeks, with 65 participating honeys. The organoleptic evaluation of the honey was entrusted to
the 12 members of the international jury, all registered in the Italian National Register of Experts in the
Sensory Analysis of Honey, under the guidance of the Panel Leader Roberto Colombo, Researcher at the
CREA-AA in Bologna. Depending on the score obtained thanks in the sensory evaluation, the best honeys
were awarded the BIOLMIEL Gold or Silver Quality Medal. Honeys with an HMF > 10 ppm – or higher than
15 ppm for honeys harvested more than 6 months ago or heather honeys, and those with an H 2 O content >
18% were not awarded any medal.
For monofloral honeys, the podium of this edition is made up of a Sardinian French honeysuckle
(Hedysarum coronarium) honey, collected on pastures in central Sardinia, from the Arbarèe farm in Simaxis
(OR), which was awarded first place, from a “vanilla” fir honeydew honey from the Greek company Axion-
Esti in second place, while in third place we find a Lucanian rapeseed honey from Con. Pro. Bio Lucano,
coming from the area of Lavello (PZ).
“Vanilla” fir honeydew honey is harvested only in Greece thanks to the presence of fir forests of Abies
cephalonica, present in the Peloponnese, and is characterized by a golden and opalescent colour and a
highly appreciated woody aroma.
For polyfloral honeys, the first positions were assigned to the Apulian honey of Apicoltura Livrera with the
first place, while in second place we find the Abruzzo polyfloral of Apicoltura Colle Salera, and in third place
the Spanish polyfloral from the Canary Islands of La Abeja Del Guance.
The event was organized by BIOL ITALIA in collaboration with CREA-AA of Bologna and with the sponsorship
of ICEA – Institute of Ethical and Environmental Certification.
All participants will be sent a certificate of participation or the BIOLMIEL Quality Certificate, and analysis
reports regarding HMF and water content according to the analyses carried out by CREA-AA of Bologna,
together with the list of Medals awarded.