Honey is not pure: beekeeping association calls for revision of national standards, Consumers' Foundation hopes for more advanced testing methods

For two consecutive years, including spot checks of commercially sold honey by the Taipei City Department of Health and the Consumers' Foundation, the honey failure rate has been above 30%, and this year's Consumers' Foundation test results showed that nearly 50% of products did not meet the national honey standard CNS1305.

Last year the Taipei City Department of Health used a testing method called "carbon isotope analysis," which the Beekeepers Association questioned, arguing that it is not a method designated by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and therefore cannot determine whether honey is pure. This year the Consumers' Foundation used the "national standard CNS1305" as the basis for judging honey quality, but businesses and the Beekeepers Association likewise protested, calling it a "problematic national standard." The Taiwan Beekeepers Association recently submitted a proposal to the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, hoping to revise the national standard to match the industry's current situation.

The Consumers' Foundation believes that more advanced testing methods are needed to confirm whether honey is genuine, but the current national standard remains the first choice for judging whether honey is real or fake. "The national standard is by nature a quality standard, and failure to meet quality may be caused by adulteration; the two cannot be separated."

Should the national standard be revised?

Chen Yu-wen, a professor in the Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science at National Ilan University who has long studied honey, believes that honey meeting the national standard is not necessarily real honey, and fake honey can also meet the national standard. "The national standard can only judge honey's quality and whether there has been improper processing or poor storage; it cannot be used to prove authenticity."

The national standard for honey was most recently revised in 2012. As to whether to revise it again, Chang Ming-lang, section chief of the Crop Environment Section of the Agricultural Resources Division of the Agriculture and Food Agency, believes that "revising the national standard is a dilemma." The original consideration was that the distinguishing feature of domestic longan honey compared with imported honey is its freshness, with sugar content reaching 70% or more, and so the standard was set at 70%.

"The national standard for honey is only a relative value, not an absolute value. Passing the national standard does not mean it is definitely real honey, but it has undergone a certain level of certification and scrutiny, so its credibility is higher. Fake honey can also be made to meet the national standard, but the cost is relatively higher." Chang Ming-lang believes that whether the national standard for honey should be revised mainly depends on how the industry group, the Beekeepers Association, integrates its internal opinions.

Internationally, "stable carbon isotope ratio mass spectrometry" is commonly used to test honey authenticity

Regarding honey testing, in addition to the seven indicators in the national standard, the current testing method of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) is "stable carbon isotope ratio mass spectrometry," which is also a commonly used testing method internationally.

The principle of carbon isotope analysis is that, based on different mechanisms of photosynthesis, nectar-source plants are C3 plants, while sugarcane (sucrose) and corn (high-fructose syrup) are C4 plants. Pure honey is all collected by bees from plant nectar, mainly from C3 plants, while generally adulterated honey uses sucrose or corn high-fructose syrup, so carbon isotope analysis can be used to determine honey purity.

When the Taipei City Department of Health conducted spot checks on commercially sold honey the year before last, it used "stable carbon isotope ratio mass spectrometry" together with Taiwan's national honey standard. However, at that time the Taiwan Beekeepers Association issued a statement arguing that the basis for honey purity testing is CNS1305 as designated by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and that "using a carbon isotope analyzer to test honey and identify pure honey versus blended honey is not a method designated by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection of the Ministry of Economic Affairs."

Last year the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare purchased an "elemental analyzer coupled with isotope ratio mass spectrometer" from Germany, planning to use carbon isotope ratio analysis to determine honey authenticity. However, the current national standard for honey does not include stable carbon isotope analysis as a testing method, and this testing method also requires establishing a carbon isotope database for Taiwanese honey. At present, the Agriculture and Food Agency has commissioned Professor Chen Yu-wen of National Ilan University to establish this database.

Expert: It can make fake-honey operators pull back, but there are still loopholes to exploit

Chen Yu-wen said that carbon isotope analysis is a relatively advanced testing method that can make operators producing fake honey pull back somewhat, but this method still has its loopholes. At present, the testing basis is that C3 indicates nectar-source plants and C4 indicates syrup or sucrose. If C4 is detected, it means the honey has added syrup or sucrose, but Taiwanese manufacturers are already capable of making C3 syrup, and he has also developed a testing method that can detect C3 syrup, though it is still in the testing stage.

"Carbon isotope analysis can be considered as blocking part of the adulteration loopholes, but operators' methods are constantly being updated, and testing methods must also keep improving." Chen Yu-wen said that in addition to testing methods, on-site inspections are also needed to control from the source; otherwise, as fake-honey methods keep innovating, any test can only be a remedy after the fact.

Ling Yong-jian, inspection chief of the Consumers' Foundation, also said that more advanced testing methods are expected to confirm honey authenticity, but before carbon isotope analysis is incorporated into national testing methods, the national standard for honey remains the first choice for judging whether honey is real or fake. "The national standard is by nature a quality standard, and failure to meet quality may be caused by adulteration; the two cannot be separated."

An unnamed person from a testing unit said that the national honey standard CNS1305 has been in use for many years and is effective when applied to honest people, but if it encounters someone with intent to deceive, it may not be able to distinguish. This is no longer an era of using a single testing method. Judging honey authenticity requires a holistic auditing perspective, constantly updating testing methods, and pairing them with actual inspections in order to find the truth of the matter. (To continue reading, please click here)

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