A unique method for fraud detection in honey
by Eric Jamin, Eurofins Analytics France
In the resolution of January 20141, members of the European Parliament identified a list of products that are most at risk of food fraud and honey is included in their list. A recent article2 highlighted a similar situation in the USA, and requested a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standard for honey.
The most common economic adulteration of honey is from the addition of sugar. C4-plant sugars (cane, maize), can be reliably detected using the AOAC 998.12 Carbon 13 - IRMS method (down to 7% addition in total sugars). However this method and more recently developed chromatographic methods using either multi-component LC-IRMS profiles, LC-MS detection of specific sugar syrup markers or foreign enzyme activities fail to detect the addition of refined syrups which perfectly mimic honey composition. Other types of fraud also exist for example, the false declaration of botanical or geographical origin.
The Eurofins Laboratory in Nantes has developed a new analytical technique to test different kinds of honey. Developed as part of a collaborative research project, this method significantly improves the detection of adulteration. The technique used is high resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) profiling. This is an innovative high-throughput technique, providing a wide range of information that is both targeted (quantification of defined substances) and non-targeted (identifying deviations from reference spectra).
Applied to honey, this analytical method can simultaneously:
- Detect the addition of exogenous sugars (from whatever source: cane, corn, beet, wheat, rice, etc.)
- Confirm the floral origin of honey declared on the product's packaging (mono-floral honeys)
- Detect various irregularities such as excessive heat treatment or a start of fermentation
- Quantify the main parameters included as analytical criteria defined in the EU directive 2001/110 and in the Codex Alimentarius: sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose) and the sugar breakdown product 5-HMF
This unique method, combined with the AOAC 998.12 analysis, ensures an optimum level of control regarding the authenticity of honey, at a reasonable cost and short timescale. Concurrently, Eurofins laboratories can also provide a broad scope of food safety related analyses.
Contact:ASMNantesAuthenticity@eurofins.com
1 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-// EP//NONSGML+REPORT+A7-2013-0434+0+DOC+PDF+V0// EN
2 Easter Strayer, S.; Everstine, K.; Kennedy, S. Economically Motivated Adulteration of honey: quality control vulnerabilities in the international honey market. Food Protection Trends, January/February 2014.
