Austria conducts DNA testing to discover honey scam.

• Austrian company Sinsoma is conducting DNA testing on about 100 honey samples monthly to determine if they have been adulterated.

• The testing is a new approach to the honey market, as fake honey is a significant issue.

• EU legislation prohibits adding ingredients like water or sugar syrups to honey, but tests show this is common practice.

• Between 2021 and 2022, 46% of the honey tested under an EU investigation was flagged as potentially adulterated, up from 14% in the 2015-17 period.

• Austria’s health and food safety agency (AGES) and European supermarket chain SPAR have ordered DNA tests for their honey.

• Fake honey threatens the livelihood of beekeepers, who struggle to compete with lower prices of imported honey.

• The EU is the world’s top honey producer and the second-biggest importer of honey, with most of the bloc’s honey imports coming from Ukraine, China, and Argentina.

• Brussels has set up a group of experts to harmonize methods to detect adulteration in honey and trace the product back to the harvesting producer or importer.