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Sweet Deception: New Test Distinguishes Impure Honey From The Real Thing

Date:
May 16, 2009
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
Here's some sweet news for honey lovers: Researchers have developed of a simple test for distinguishing 100 percent natural honeys from adulterated or impure versions that they say are increasingly being foisted off on consumers.
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Here's some sweet news for honey lovers: Researchers in France are reporting development of a simple test for distinguishing 100 percent natural honeys from adulterated or impure versions that they say are increasingly being foisted off on consumers.

Bernard Herbreteau and colleagues point out that the high price of honey and its limited supply has led some beekeepers and food processors to fraudulently make and sell impure honey doped with inexpensive sweeteners, such as corn syrup. These knock-offs are almost physically and chemically indistinguishable from the real thing. Scientists need a better way to identify adulterated honey, the researchers say.

Herbreteau and colleagues describe a new, highly sensitive test that uses a special type of chromatography to separate and identify complex sugars (polysaccharides) on their characteristic chemical fingerprints. To test their method, the scientists obtained three different varieties of pure honey from a single beekeeper and then prepared adulterated samples of the honeys by adding 1 percent corn syrup. They showed that the new technique accurately distinguished the impure honeys from the pure versions based on differences in their sugar content.


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Materials provided by American Chemical Society. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Megherbi et al. Polysaccharides as a Marker for Detection of Corn Sugar Syrup Addition in Honey. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2009; 57 (6): 2105 DOI: 10.1021/jf803384q

Cite This Page:

American Chemical Society. "Sweet Deception: New Test Distinguishes Impure Honey From The Real Thing." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 May 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511115627.htm>.
American Chemical Society. (2009, May 16). Sweet Deception: New Test Distinguishes Impure Honey From The Real Thing. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511115627.htm
American Chemical Society. "Sweet Deception: New Test Distinguishes Impure Honey From The Real Thing." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511115627.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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