An analysis of 20 brands of honey sold in Switzerland found 17 were adulterated. The testing, run by SRF, involved looking at the DNA present in the products. It looked at the types of DNA present and absent in the samples, which were taken mainly from low-priced imported products.
The tests, which involve identifying more than 10 million DNA sequences in the honey samples, have been criticised by retailers. Based on the tests only 3 products were deemed authentic and unadulterated. Honey DNA profiles are complex and follow distinct patterns making it easy to identify fraud.
The DNA testing was developed by the Celvia Laboratory in Estonia. According to Celvia, China, Turkey and the UK have the highest percentages of adulterated honey.
Swiss consume around 1.3 kg of honey per person a year, making them world leaders. Honey produced in Switzerland is expensive and covers less than a third of what is consumed. The rest is imported from Germany (28%), Argentina (28%) and Mexico (18%).
Because honey is so much more expensive than other sweetners much money can be made by adding low cost sugar sirop and passing the blended product off as 100% honey.
Until recently, catching honey fraudsters was a game of cat and mouse similar to doping in sport. Once tests designed to catch cheats are known cheating can be adjusted to pass the testing. However, faking a complex DNA pattern is no simple task.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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