Why food fraud persists, even with improving tech

"Food crime mostly goes unreported, so it's difficult to grasp its scale. It can include diluting or substituting ingredients, altering documents, or going through unapproved processes. One 2025 estimate is that food crime costs the global economy around 81bn ($110bn) a year. Fraudsters tend to target commonly consumed foods, like dairy, and high-value foods, like olive oil. Along with alcohol, seafood and edible oils, honey is frequently among the most common foods that are faked."

"Plant-based syrup, such as glucose syrup derived from sugar cane, can be half the price of genuine honey, or even less. In addition to keeping five beehives, Dr Juraj Majtan heads a lab studying bees and bee products at the Institute of Molecular Biology, part of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. He understands well just how biologically complex honey is."

"It contains hundreds of compounds, and there are many diverse types and sources of honey. One result is that it's challenging to detect whether the honey in a jar genuinely comes from honeybees from a particular place, or has been mixed with syrup derived from rice, wheat, corn or sugar beets. There isn't even an internationally agreed definition of honey."

Food crime is frequently unreported and hard to quantify. Offences include diluting or substituting ingredients, falsifying documents, and using unapproved processes. One 2025 estimate places global costs at about $110 billion annually. Fraudsters focus on commonly consumed and high-value items, including dairy, olive oil, alcohol, seafood, edible oils, and honey. Plant-based syrups such as cane-derived glucose syrup can cost half as much as genuine honey. Honey contains hundreds of compounds and diverse types, making origin and authenticity difficult to determine. No single test can conclusively identify fake honey, creating a pressing need for new detection methods. Fake honey primarily harms beekeepers' livelihoods and can threaten human health.

Read at www.bbc.com