It’s curious that honey quality detection is only just beginning to happen. How much fraud has there been before now if 100% is suspected?

In March 2023, the European Commission found that 46% of sampled products (including all 10 samples from the UK) were suspected to be fraudulent – meaning they had likely been bulked out with cheaper sugar syrups. Scientists at Cranfield University then said in August this year that they had found a way to detect fake honey products without opening the jar.

Or perhaps more to the point, why is the UK fraud (given nearly £100 million/year is imported) suspected at something like double the EU rate?

The “new” method of detection mentioned is actually Spatial Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) with machine learning. It’s a light analysis technique used in pharmaceutical and security diagnostics that can ID sugar syrups.