Bingöl Balı

Bingöl Balı is a polyfloral honey produced from the nectar of the rich and diverse flora of Bingöl province in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. The European Commission entered it in the register of protected designations of origin on 10 July 2024, by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1891, published in Official Journal L, 2024/1891. The application was submitted by Bingöl Provincial Beekeepers Association (Bingöl İli Arıcılar Birliği), with Bingöl University acting as coordinator. The Turkish domestic GI registration is protected under Industrial Property Law No. 6769 since 16 December 2020.

The Bingöl Provincial Beekeepers Association has 1,706 members engaged in the production and processing of Bingöl Balı. Beekeeping is one of the most important sources of income for the province, and Bingöl has a major role in Turkish honey production owing to its floral diversity and clean natural environment.

What makes it distinct

Bingöl Balı is characterised by its exceptional botanical richness. Bingöl province hosts approximately 1,700 plant species, of which 300 are endemic, and more than 200 plant taxa have been registered as bee plants through melissopalynological analyses. The dominant bee plant families are Asteraceae (daisy family), Fabaceae (legume family), and Hypericaceae (St. John's wort family).

The defining botanical characteristic of Bingöl Balı is the presence in its pollen content of at least one of five indicator taxa: Astragalus sp. (milkvetch), Centaurea sp. (centaury), Hypericum sp. (St. John's wort), Trifolium sp. (clover), and Xeranthemum sp. (immortelle or annual everlasting). These taxa reflect the Iranian-Turanian flora region in which Bingöl sits, east of the Anatolian Diagonal.

The province's combination of mountainous terrain with volcanic plateaus at 1,500–2,000 metres, prolonged cool summers, clean soil and water resources (owing to the absence of heavy industry), and continuous nectar flow from mid-May to end of August produces a honey with a complex pollen profile that is directly tied to the province's unique geography.

Physical and chemical properties

The following values are taken directly from the Single Document (OJ C/2024/1989) and product specification:

Physicochemical characteristics:

• Humidity (% max): 18

• Sucrose (g/100 g; max): 3

• Fructose + Glucose (g/100 g; min): 65

• Fructose/Glucose ratio: 1.00–1.30

• Maltose (% max): 4

• Water-insoluble substance (g/100 g; max): 0.1

• Free acidity (meq/kg; max): 40

• Electrical conductivity (mS/cm; max): 0.8

• Number of diastases (min): 15

• HMF (mg/kg; max): 20

• δ¹³C honey: -23 or lower

• δ¹³C protein − δ¹³C honey: -1.0 or higher

• C4 sugars (% max): 7

• Proline (mg/kg; min): 450

Organoleptic characteristics: Colour varies from light amber to dark amber. Marketed as extracted honey and honeycomb. Extracted honey is sold in glass jars of maximum 1 kg. Honeycomb honey is sold in rectangular, square, or lacquered packaging of 3–5 kg suitable for contact with food. Product must be protected from direct sunlight and stored in clean, dry, odour-free conditions at an internal temperature not exceeding 20°C.

Pollen requirements

Bingöl Balı must contain pollen from at least one of five indicator taxa: Astragalus sp., Centaurea sp., Hypericum sp., Trifolium sp., and Xeranthemum sp. The overall pollen spectrum must also be consistent with the 104-taxon melissopalynological profile defined in the Single Document. Key taxa appearing at primary or secondary levels include Helichrysum sp., Lamium sp., Lotus sp., Pimpinella sp., Plantago lanceolata, Potentilla sp., and Verbascum spp. Not all 104 taxa are required to be present simultaneously.

Production zone

The demarcated geographical area covers all villages and towns belonging to Bingöl province in Eastern Anatolia. Bingöl is surrounded by mountains, with volcanic plateaus, stream-cut valleys, and tectonic plains and basins forming the main morphological units. Altitudes and landforms change over short distances, creating significant diversity in topography, climate, and vegetation.

The average plateau altitude is 1,500–2,000 metres, producing a cool summer period that prolongs the flowering season and enables nectar collection from June to October. The annual rainfall and high number of sunny days support a rich flora. Oak forests (Quercus petraea subsp. pinnatiloba and Quercus libani) form the dominant forest cover; in steppe areas, milkvetch species (Astragalus muschianus and Astragalus gummifer) are abundant.

The absence of heavy industrial enterprises in Bingöl ensures that soil and water resources remain clean, which is directly reflected in the quality of the honey.

All stages of production, processing, and preparation must take place within the defined geographical area.

Beekeeping practice

Beekeeping in Bingöl is predominantly migratory. Activity begins in early March with the care and feeding of colonies overwintered elsewhere, and queen bee inspection. From mid-May to end of August, when the main nectar flow runs, bees are moved within the province according to altitude and nectar flow — from lower areas at around 1,100 metres up to 1,900 metres and higher, positioned 3–4 km from settlements near natural water sources.

Colonies are overwintered outside the geographical area, typically in Hatay, Adana, Mersin, Diyarbakır, or Şanlıurfa provinces, and returned to Bingöl in spring. During overwintering and migration, movements are coordinated within the framework of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Beekeeping Registration System (AKS), in conjunction with the Bingöl Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry and the Bingöl Provincial Beekeepers Association.

No support feeding is carried out during the May-to-August nectar collection period, and no drugs or chemicals are applied while bees are collecting nectar. The nectar flow is best in July, and harvest is carried out once per year, exclusively from the honeydew section of the hive (not the brood section), outside the hottest hours of the day. After extraction and filtering, honey is collected in chrome containers of 100–200 litres, rested for three days, then filled into food-safe containers. Harvested honey is not filtered in any way that would alter its pollen content.

Control and certification

Inspections are carried out three times a year — in spring (March–May), summer (June–August), and the wintering period (September–March) — by a five-person inspection board coordinated by Bingöl University Rectorate, with participation from the Bingöl Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, Bingöl Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Bingöl Provincial Beekeepers Association, and Bingöl Municipality. Inspection costs are borne by the producer.

The competent control authority named in the Register Extract is:

• Bingöl Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry — Saray Mahallesi Bingöl-Muş Karayolu Sağlık Cad. No:26 Düzağaç Mevki, Bingöl