No money for fake honey - From investigation to legislation

During 2023, OLAF published the findings of its investigation into honey fraud in the EU. This case is an example where an OLAF investigation helped influence new legislation aimed at protecting EU producers, the single market and citizens.

The results of OLAF's forensic investigations, based on site inspection, sampling and close examination of computers and phone records, demonstrated collusion between the exporter and the importer on:

• the use of sugar syrups to adulterate honey and to lower its price;
• the regular recourse of analyses in accredited laboratories to adapt honey/sugar blends to elude possible detection by clients and official authorities prior to import operations;
• the use of additives and of colourings to adulterate the true honey botanical source;
• the masking of the true geographical origin of honey by the forging of traceability information.

The findings were linked to the 2022 operation dubbed ‘from the Hives’, which was an EU coordinated action into the adulteration of honey led by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), with support of OLAF, national authorities from 18 countries (part of the EU Food Fraud Network) and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).

Adulteration of honey occurs when additional products - such as glucose syrups, are added to pure honey to increase its volume. Whilst not harmful to human health, this action dilutes the purity of honey, undercutting genuine producers and giving the consumer a raw deal. It also breaches EU legislation, which states that honey in the EU must be pure.

The operation

Following the analysis of 320 samples of honey, taken at border control posts across Europe, it was discovered that 46% was adulterated. In total 133 businesses (70 importers and 63 exporters) were found to be involved in consignments of honey suspected of being adulterated.

The operation also discovered that the highest absolute number of suspicious consignments of honey originated from China (74%). Honey originating from Türkiye had the highest relative proportion of suspicious samples (93%). The suspicion rate that honey imported from the UK had been adulterated was even higher - 100%.

Postscript

In early 2024, in order to address instances of food fraud, such as honey adulteration that the operation uncovered, the European Council and European Parliament struck a deal on the so-called ‘Breakfast Directive’. This Directive updated rules concerning the composition, labelling, and naming of certain foodstuffs including honey.

For honey, the ambition is to have ‘mandatory origin labelling’, which will also allow the European Commission to introduce methods to detect honey adulteration with sugar and create a uniform methodology to trace the origin of honey and criteria to ascertain that honey is not overheated when sold to the final consumer.

This part of the Directive has been largely welcomed by many honey producers throughout the EU as it would help combat honey fraud.