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A project, funded by the UK Government Chemist and Defra's Food Authenticity Programme, has delivered a practical framework that will enable independent scrutiny of proprietary honey authenticity databases, which are often unpublished and opaque, yet underpin significant commercial testing decisions. Lack of transparency in these databases has led to legal disputes and undermines confidence in non-targeted analytical methods used for verifying honey authenticity. 

The Government Chemist convened an independent expert group led by Professor Michael Walker and Dr David Hoyland. This group developed a framework, which offers detailed guidance on evaluating database scope, composition, metadata, representativity, and method validation. It also includes safeguards for database owners and describes international standards and UK/EU regulations.

This framework will enable the assessment of the fitness for purpose of authenticity databases used to interpret authenticity test results, enabling reliable enforcement decisions and reducing legal ambiguity. It empowers both regulators and industry, supporting transparent, science-based scrutiny and advancing the integrity of the global food system.

Access the documents:

• Framework for interrogation of honey authenticity databases
• Annex 1 - Terms of reference: Members and modus operandi of the working group
• Annex 2 - Appendices 1-3
• Annex 3 - Guidance notes on appendices 1-3
• Annex 4 - Review exercise summary report.

A draft CEN standard titled 1 'Food authenticity - Non-targeted testing methods - Part 1: General considerations and definitions' (WI 00460015) is available for comment via national standards body:

Please contact your national standards body and submit any comments to them.

For example, in the UK visit British Standards Institution - Project input comments by 23/09/2025.

UKAS with Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) would like to invite laboratories to express an interest to join a pilot programme to become accredited by UKAS to perform non-targeted food /feed authenticity testing against the conformity assessment requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and UKAS document Lab 13 for expressing opinions and interpretations.

This programme presents an excellent opportunity for laboratories to demonstrate their testing capabilities together with opinions and interpretations under ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation, in the ever evolving authenticity testing food market place.

Successful applicants will be accredited to undertake non-targeted authenticity testing using specific techniques/methodologies and as part of this pilot, are expected to include an opinion on the authenticity of the food product on the accredited test report.

The number of laboratories participating the pilot programme is limited. Official laboratories undertaking this pilot study will be supported in funding and funding will be considered for other eligible laboratories. On-going accreditation costs would be the responsibility of the laboratory.

UKAS is currently gauging the potential level of interest in this area so would also like to hear from technical experts that may wish to support UKAS as a stakeholder to provide expertise and support to the development of accreditation criteria and process.

To express an interest, organisations will need to respond by email to developmentenquiries@ukas.com by 30 Sept 2022

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