SYDNEY, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Nearly one in five samples of Australian honey is adulterated, with fraudulent addition of cane sugar or corn syrup and mislabeling of geographic origin common in the industry, according to a latest research.
"Corn syrup and sugar cane, both a cheaper sugar source than honey, are added commonly to honey to increase product volume, which is then traded as a genuine pure honey," according to the Australian study, which included Macquarie University researchers, reported on Wednesday.
"Australian honey is characterized as safe and high quality since it is produced in a 'clean and green' country with one of the world's most rigorous apicultural management systems. However, recent scandals in which the 'Australian product' logo was used falsely on products purporting to be Australian honeys has raised public concern about the stated authenticity of honey origin and quality."
The study included carbon isotopic analyses of honey and protein to examine 100 product samples from Australia, along with 18 other countries from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania.
Australia had a honey adulteration rate of 18.4 percent in total, with the produce from its mainland having an adulteration rate of 17.2 percent compared to 22.2 percent of samples from its island state Tasmania, reported the researchers. Overall, 52 percent of Asian honey samples tested were adulterated (11 of 21 samples), while six honey samples from Europe, from a total of 21 tested, contained added sugar.
Genuine pure honey is classified as "a natural product produced entirely by bees," but it is actually one of the world's top adulterated products, with the global study confirming the "common fraudulent practice of adulterating commercial honey," said the researchers, whose findings were published in natural sciences journal Scientific Reports.
