Why is there a problem?

Two words: food crime. There’s evidence to suggest widespread adulteration of honey, but the complex nature of honey has been an obstacle to developing affordable and reliable authenticity testing. A recent study showed that 46% of honey imported into the EU appeared to have been adulterated, usually with added sugar syrups.

Worldwide honey consumption is growing. In its natural form it is a nutritious food with some remarkable qualities: it has a very long shelf-life, potentially indefinite. This is due to the low water content, its acidic nature, and the presence of hydrogen peroxide (produced by the action of an enzyme in bees’ stomachs), all of which work in perfect harmony to make the sweet sticky concoction a place where microbiological nasties such as salmonella and e-coli feel distinctly unwelcome.

It can be used to dress wounds, supress coughs and has many other claimed health benefits. It is also a delicious food, having a taste unique to the geographical area in which the bees produce it. Honey is wonderful on its own, or as an ingredient in cooking, where it sweetens and adds moisture.

Unsurprisingly, these many qualities make honey a valuable commodity. While estimates vary, the value of the global market for honey is in the region of USD 9 billion and that attracts the interest of criminals.

What is honey made of?

Honey is a complex substance. It consists mainly of sugars such as fructose, glucose and maltose but also contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, organic acids, pollen, fragrance and flavour compounds. Honey bees make it from plant nectar and/or plant secretions but can also produce it from the excretions of plant-sucking insects (when it is known as “honeydew honey”). Honeydew honey tends to be darker in colour and has a strong flavour. Blossom honeys vary in colour from very pale to dark brown. Honey can be fluid, viscous or sometimes entirely crystallised. Flavours vary dependent upon plant variety. It can be monofloral – where bees forage from a predominant source (such as heather honey) – or of mixed plant species.

What legal rules relate to honey?

In broad terms, to sell a product as “honey”, a food business must be able to prove that the product meets certain compositional criteria set down in legislation. These criteria include that the product contains nothing but honey, is produced by honey bees (Apis mellifera), that it is free from organic or inorganic matter foreign to its composition, and that it contains minimum amounts of fructose and glucose, which vary between honey types.

The legislation also sets rules about how the honey can be described – for instance a honey which is not from plant nectar cannot be described as “blossom” honey. The description can include the honey’s floral or other source (e.g. manuka) but the seller must be able to prove that the honey came from that source and possesses – to microscopic level – the characteristics of that source. That is an exacting standard.

Legislation also sets out methods of analysis for compliance tests. These include methods approved by the Codex Alimentarius (the international food standards body) and other internationally recognised and validated methods.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) testing, a technique which uses the inherent magnetic attributes of atomic nuclei to identify composition, can be used in honey testing. However existing methods – validated or otherwise –  are simply not sufficient to detect all types of sugar syrups unlawfully added to honey. This creates space for abuse as well as false suspicion about what may be perfectly pure honey. No one benefits from this uncertainty and progress on testing is therefore welcome.

What progress has been made on new testing methods?

Work carried out with scientists at Cranfield has shown the potential to use two methods to reliably detect sugars which have been improperly added to honey. One is known as Spatially offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS), which can detect the type and amount of added sugars; and the other involved Cranfield developing a series of DNA markers which could identify plant DNA, such as rice and sugar beet, in honey which could be used to provide a reliable indication of adulteration.

What happens next?

The Cranfield studies were designed as a proof of concept for use of the technology in honey testing and further work and validation is needed before the technology can be routinely deployed in commercial authenticity testing. The timescale for this further work is not yet clear. In the meantime, government advice is to use a weight of evidence approach for honey authenticity, including traceability checks which, when used to support indicative testing results, can help to provide some measure of assurance of the integrity of honey.

How we can help you

Our team can help to demystify the legal rules relating to honey, including labelling and composition rules. We can also support you in working with science partners and testing providers to identify and implement a testing programme which meets the  weight of evidence approach presently recommended by Government.

Contact Chris McGarvey to discuss how we can support you.