The sticky problem of detecting fake honey

FROM CHEMISTRY WORLD - BY NINA NOTMAN 17 AUGUST 2026

“Nobody knows how much of the honey we buy is pure or adulterated, as detecting fraud remains surprisingly difficult. Nina Notman examines why finding fake honey is so analytically challenging — and what researchers are doing about it.”

https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/the-sticky-problem-of-detecting-fake-honey/4023882.article

“It is suspected that fraudsters are using low-cost sugar syrups to either bulk out or entirely replace honey in honey jars. A number of recent high-profile analytical studies seem to support such concerns. The European Commission’s 2023 From the Hives report, for example, stated that 46% of the over 300 samples of imported honey tested by its scientists at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Belgium showed apparent signs of adulteration.”