Testing for honey authenticity often requires a panel of different analytical approaches, none of which is conclusive but each giving an increasing degree of suspicion. Some of these approaches involve high cost specialist equipment and bespoke reference databases.
In this paper (purchase required) the authors propose a panel of three tests using relatively cheap and accessible equipment. They developed a new high-performance liquid chromatography diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method for the precise quantification of HMF, and coupled this with analysis of glucose, fructose, saccharose, and maltose using a HPLC with refractive index detection (HPLC-RI) plus diastase activity (DA) using the established Schade method.
They applied their approach to 65 commercial Spanish honey samples, reporting significant compliance with EU regulatory standards, yet also uncovering some suspicions of adulteration.
Photo by Roberta Sorge on Unsplash
