Elemental and isotopic profile of honey – insights related to the nature of the exploited plant and potential environmental influences

The goal of this work is to enhance our comprehension of the factors that influence the content of rare earth elements (REEs) in honey to have better control over their propagation from soil to plant and food. In this regard, we employed Pearson correlation to trace the possible interdependencies among REEs and several elements. A novel approach to honey classification was conducted to distinguish between two types of honey originating from herbaceous plants and from trees, assessed at both elemental and isotopic levels. The differences observed were possibly explained by the variances in plant environmental surroundings, the agricultural practices applied (including the use of pesticides and fertilizers), and the depth of root systems influencing access to soil-derived elements. Results indicate that root depth and plant type significantly affect elemental uptake and highlight that honey quality control can serve not only to ensure product authenticity, but also as a tool to reflect environmental contamination and localized pollution affecting the plants used for honey production. Geographical influences were also assessed by comparing honey from Romania (Transylvania) with that from other EU countries and revealed that La, Ce, and Pr are markers for this classification type. Reliable recognition models for the botanical and geographical discrimination of honey were developed. • Screening of REEs content in honey across several countries and plant types. • Different nutrients and pollutants proved to accumulate based on honey plant type. • REEs as potential geographical markers for honey recognition. • Honey quality monitoring can be used for assessing environmental plant pollution.