Beekeepers and scientists tackle sticky problem of honey fraud in England

HIGHBRIDGE: Lynne Ingram cuts a peaceful figure as she tends to a row of humming beehives in a leafy corner of Somerset, southwest England.

But the master beekeeper, who has been keeping hives for more than 40 years, has found herself in a fight against a tricky and evolving foe — honey fraudsters.

The practice of adulterating honey is well known, and historically adulterants such as ash and potato flour have been used. Now, advancements in technology and science have made it much easier, with “bespoke, designer or bioengineered” syrups used as diluting agents capable of fooling authenticity tests, Ingram said.

She founded the UK Honey Authenticity Network (HAN UK) in 2021 to raise awareness about natural honey and warn of the threat posed by fraud.

“One of the impacts we’re seeing all over the world is beekeepers going out of business,” she said.

“I’d like to see an acknowledgement that there is actually an issue here,” she said.

Adulterated honey can be sold to retailers for a price several times lower than genuine producers can afford. As well as producing their own honey, many larger-scale beekeepers have crop pollination contracts with farmers, delivering thousands of colonies to growers across the country. If they go out of business due to unfair competition, this vital natural method of pollinating crops is reduced and food production suffers.

The British Beekeepers Association, which represents more than 25,000 producers and where Ingram is a honey ambassador, wants the risk of fraud to be recognised to protect the industry and consumers.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2024