Scientists have developed two new “fast and accurate” tests to detect fake honey products.
One of the tests – developed by a team from Cranfield University and supported by the Food Standards Agency and the UK’s Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) – is able to spot honeys spiked with rice and sugar beet syrups “without opening the jar”.
The test uses lasers and the non-invasive spatial offset raman spectroscopy (SORS) method – more commonly used in pharmaceuticals and security – to detect any sugar syrups present in the sample.
SORS rapidly identifies the “fingerprint” of each ingredient in the product. The scientists have combined the data with machine learning to successfully detect and identify sugar syrups from various plant sources.
The researchers said the method of analysis was “portable and easy to implement, making it an ideal screening tool for testing honey along the supply chain”.
“Honey is expensive, and in demand – and can be targeted by fraudsters, which leaves genuine suppliers out of pocket and undermines consumers’ trust,” said the research team’s leader, Dr Maria Anastasiadi. “This method is an effective, quick tool to identify suspicious samples of honey, helping the industry to protect consumers and verify supply chains.”
The second new test – developed by Cranfield University researchers with the FSA and the Institute for Global Food Security – uses DNA barcoding to detect rice and corn syrups spiked in UK honey samples.
DNA barcoding – a method already used in food authentication to identify plant species in products – was deemed to successfully detect syrups even at 1% adulteration level.
“To date, DNA methods haven’t been widely used to examine honey authenticity,” said Anastasiadi. “But our study showed that this is a sensitive, reliable and robust way to detect adulteration and confirm the origins of syrups added to the honey.
“The large variation of honey composition makes it particularly difficult to authenticate. So having this consistent technique in the testing armoury could take the sting out of honey fraud.”
The UK is one of the top four countries worldwide importing honey and the second-largest importer in Europe, according to the European Commission.
Total honey imports in the UK and Europe, however, are expected to show little growth in the coming years, according to the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs research.
“Honey adulteration problems have made many European buyers wary about the purity and authenticity of honey from various cheap suppliers, and so they are hesitant to buy honey at prices that are too good to be true,” the ministry said.
The researchers added that the two new methods developed “can work together” to increase chances of detecting exogenous sugar adulteration in honey.
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