Nine in ten honey samples from UK retailers fail authenticity test
Call for industry reform as latest results support belief that products are being bulked out with cheaper sugar syrup
Most UK Retailer Honey Fails Authenticity Tests
The honey industry faces new demands to overhaul its supply chain after more than 90% of sampled products bought from large British retailers failed pioneering authenticity tests.
The UK branch of the Honey Authenticity Network sent 30 samples last month from Britain for a novel commercial test based on the DNA profiles of genuine honey. Five were from UK beekeepers and 25 from big retailers, including supermarkets.
The tests found that 24 out of the 25 jars of honey from retailers were considered suspicious. All five samples from UK beekeepers were considered to be genuine.
Honey importers in the UK and some experts challenge the reliability of such testing, but this is the latest batch of tests suggesting what may be widespread adulteration in the honey supply chain, with some products suspected of being bulked out with cheaper sugar syrup.
EU Targets Honey Fraud with Stricter Testing and Labelling
The British Honey Importers and Packers Association (BHIPA) said a “weight of evidence” assessment must be used to safeguard the supply chain. It said the “vast majority” of UK-sold honey was of very high standard.
An EU investigation published last year found 46% of imported sampled products were suspected to be fraudulent, including all 10 honey samples from the UK.
The EU is working on advanced testing techniques to detect honey fraud and has passed new legislation to provide improved labelling of country of origin on jars of honey.
UK Beekeeper Warns of Flood of Adulterated Imported Honey
Lynne Ingram, a Somerset beekeeper and the chair of the Honey Authenticity Network UK, said: “The market is being flooded by cheap, imported adulterated honey and it is undermining the business of genuine honey producers. The public are being misinformed, because they are buying what they think is genuine honey.”
UK and European tests reveal widespread honey adulteration in supermarket products, while genuine UK beekeeper honey passes DNA-based authenticity checks. Authorities and industry groups call for improved testing, labelling, and support for local producers.
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