Grant: Applied Research Tools and Instruments Grants

Over the past 10 years, the National Bee Diagnostic Centre (NBDC) has built an international reputation for critical diagnostics, applied research, and specialized training services to the commercial beekeeping and pollination industries. More than a regional service centre, the NBDC continues to be the only facility dedicated to bee and pollinator research and diagnostics in Canada. NBDC-TAC has provided many new insights into pollinator health, such as diseases prevalence and treatments efficacies, but Canadian producers still face serious production challenges. Honey is in the top three faked foods in the world. Fraudulent honey has a great impact on beekeeping in Canada by driving honey prices down, adding to issues faced by the industry (bee mortality). Responding to an urgent need for more honey testing in Canada, the NBDC and Alberta Beekeepers Commission (ABC) jointly upgrade the centre’s services by including a High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) system, a tool to determine sugar and floral contents in honey to detect an eventual adulteration of the honey and at the same time add value to the product. The HTPLC provides a rapid, reliable, repeatable, and cost-effective method for honey testing; however, not all compounds in honey and other agricultural products are detectable by the HPTLC alone. The objective of this proposal is to acquire a complementary equipment, a mass spectrometer to be coupled with the HPTLC for a comprehensive analysis of honey. This equipment will enable the NBDC to expand its services and applied research into honey testing, while helping our institution to expand its applied research focus into other agricultural products and providing comprehensive experiential learning opportunities for our students. The proposed equipment is a user-friendly software and hardware package with low maintenance, robust system designed for the demands of a “student-run” environment. The equipment perfectly complements NBDC-TAC services and research, being unique for a teaching institute in Northern Alberta. Students in the Peace Country and from other regions will be trained on specialized laboratory skills contributing to the formation of highly qualified personnel. In addition, we will be able to enter new applied research collaborations with universities, colleges, federal regulatory agencies and other national and international private and not-for-profit organizations.