In Middle Asia, the dragonfly Pantala flavescens makes regular seasonal migrations. In spring, sexually mature dragonflies (immigrants) arrive in this region for reproduction. Dragonflies of the aboriginal generation (residents) develop in about two months, and migrate south in autumn. Residents of Middle Asia have significantly lower δ²H values (−123.5 (SD 17.2)‰, n = 53) than immigrants (−64.4 (9.7)‰, n = 12), as well as aboriginal dragonfly species from Ethiopia (−47.9 (10.8)‰, n = 4) and the Sahel zone (−50.1 (15.5)‰, n = 11). Phenological data on P. flavescens in the Afro-Asian region and a comparison with published isotopic data on migratory insects from this region suggest that (i) the probable area of origin of P. flavescens immigrants is located in tropical parts of East Africa and/or the Arabian Peninsula and (ii) the autumn migration of Middle Asian residents to the south may also pass through the Indian Ocean. We assume that in the Afro-Asian region, there is an extensive migration circle of P. flavescens covering East Africa, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent with a total length of more than 14,000 km.

Due to the increasing consumer interest in wines with a controlled place of origin, PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) and PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), the most acute question is how to identify them. One of the most effective ways to confirm the place of origin of wine in global practice is a comprehensive study of the elemental profile using statistical analysis methods. In the period from 2020 to 2023, 152 grape samples of grapes were collected from various wineries in Crimea and Kuban. The grape must that was obtained from them was fermented in laboratory conditions. The elemental profile was determined in the prepared wines, which included 71 indicators. In the conducted work, it was revealed that wines from Crimea and Kuban differ statistically significantly in the concentration of the elements B, Ca, Cu, Mn, Na, Ni, Re, Si, Sn and U. At the same time, the contents of the elements U, Sn and Re prevail in wines from Crimea, and those of B, Ca, Cu, Mn, Na, Ni and Si prevail in wines from Kuban. At the same time, methods of univariate and multivariate statistics do not allow us to reliably classify wine samples from Crimea and Kuban by their place of origin. In order to reveal the non-linear dependence of the studied indicators in wines on the geographical place of grape growing, the method of a supervised learning Random Forest was used. After training the model on the dataset, the proportion of its correct predictions was 96%. The model used 61 parameters, among which the most important were Ni, Re, Ba, Rb, Na, U, Sb, Zn, Bi, Ag and Ti.

Bee honey is a valuable highly nutritive natural product; it is widely consumed among the population. Due to its high cost the natural honey often becomes the object of adulteration. The authenticity of honey is the most important criterion of quality, as on the one hand it ensures the biosecurity of honey, and provides the healthy market competition on the other hand. In this regard, the issue of honey identification is quite acute in all countries with developed beekeeping culture. The authors provide an overview of domestic and foreign regulatory documents regarding the authenticity of honey, as well as its status as a product with a controlled designation of origin. Based on the analysis of scientific literature, the most significant studies aimed to a method of honey authenticity confirmation were selected and brought out. These studies were carried out in the countries of the European Union, China, Brazil, the USA, Mexico and other countries. These studies showed that chromatographic methods and the method of isotope mass spectrometry are the most effective for detection of added sugars in honey, as well as for revealing the fact of feeding bees with various syrups. The authenticity of the botanical and geographical point of honey origin is usually determined by the principle of “fingerprints”. The principle involves collecting the values of an array of indicators and processing them by means of statistical analysis methods. To form a database, in addition to the above methods, methods of NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, PCR, ICP-MS and some others have become widely used. When determining the authenticity of the botanical and geographical origin of honey, it is also necessary to consider the specific features of local melliferous plants, bee species, soil composition and climatic conditions. Thus, an individual yet integrated approach to the identification of honey by means of the instrumental methods of analysis and statistical processing of results will become a powerful and reliable tool in determining its authenticity, including its botanical and geographical origin.

The global concept of conscious consumption and healthy life-style affects the development of the food industry. As a consequence, over the last several decades, a production of sugar substitutes has been increased, a search for and creation of new sweetening substances have been carried out. The paper presents a review of the domestic and foreign studies devoted to the use of sugar substitutes in various branches of the food industry. The information about new types of sugar substitutes from natural starch-containing raw materials and their properties is given. A possibility of replacing crystalline sugar with sugar substitutes in food production is described, their effect on the physico-chemical, sensory and organoleptic properties of foods and beverages is demonstrated. The development of the technologies facilitates an extension of the range of well-known and widely used high-calorie sugar substitutes from starch-containing raw materials, characterized by different carbohydrate composition and properties. It has been noted that out of quite a large number of sugar substitutes applied in the food industry abroad, glucose-fructose syrups (GFS) are among most promising. They are full-value sucrose substitutes and have several advantages. A proportion of GFS in the total volume of sugar syrup consumption is increasing worldwide every year. The main raw material for production of GFS in the USA is corn starch; in the CIS countries, starch obtained from wheat and potato is also used. Studies aimed to investigation and development of bioprocesses that ensure production of competitive enzymatic GFS and other sweetening syrups from alternative sources are gaining in importance. The information is presented about the development of the innovative technologies for production of sugar syrups from Jerusalem artichoke and chicory, agave, yacon, sorghum and rice. The results of the study of properties of these syrups and their effect on the physical and sensory, rheological and microstructural properties of products, in which technologies these syrups were used, are described. Due to the different carbohydrate composition, as well as physico-chemical properties (a degree of hygroscopicity, anti-crystallization properties, a level of sweetness, glycemic index and so on), sugar substitutes acquire increasing popularity among producers and consumers, and can be used in food and beverage manufacturing as a more technological replacement of crystalline sugar.

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