Honey is a high-value product used not only in food but in medicine and cosmetics as well. There is a rising demand for honey all over the world, whereas the number of apiaries is subsiding day by day. Adulteration is a common and widespread problem observed in honey and is constantly increasing, making it a matter of concern for purity maintenance.
Center for Science and Environment (CSE) conducted an investigation on various brands of Honey in India and uncovered that 10 out of 13 brands could not comply with the standards of purity test, including the famous brands such as Patanjali, Zandu, Baidyanath, and Dabur. Though these brands could pass the standards set for purity to be sold in the Indian market, there is one test called the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), which is required for the export purpose, and these 10 brands could not comply with that. The only three out of 13 brands that qualified the CSE’s investigation in India are Saffola, Markfed Sohna, and Nature’s Nectar, which were tested by using NMR Technique for Honey Profiling.
Honey in the market can generally be found to be adulterated with sugar syrups, even crystalline sucrose, and often with dangerous chemicals such as antibiotics, coloring, and Hydroxy Methyl Furfural (HMF). This type of adulteration is generally “Direct Adulteration”, and the cheaper substitutes are added directly. Another type is “Indirect Adulteration”, where the honeybees are fed with industrial sugars, instead of natural pollen, and plant nectar when they produce honey. This type of adulteration is highly difficult to detect. However, the NMR technique is an advanced analytical technique that can even detect indirect adulteration. It works by detection of the presence of exogenous sugar, country of origin, verification of Botanical variety, composition and freshness analysis, compliance check for HMF, sucrose, glucose, and fructose.
However, if we require to check the adulteration of honey at home, it can only be possibly detected if sugar solution is added directly, i.e. Direct Adulteration of honey with a significant amount of sugar solution can be detected at home. One must keep in mind that the tests done at home are not 100% accurate, but if the honey is highly adulterated, these tests can definitely be useful.
Following home-scale methods can be used to check the purity of honey-
METHOD 1-
Take a transparent glass of water.
Add a spoonful of honey to the water.
Either mix very slowly or do not mix at all.
If the honey disperses in water, it is sure to contain added sugars.
Pure honey does not disperse in water and will remain as a lump.
However, keep in mind that if the honey is adulterated with an evenly crystallized or solid honeycomb, it will still not disperse in water. Hence, though this test can be used, but is not a mandate to rely upon.
If water is added to honey and its consistency is thin, you can use the following test to check the presence of water.
METHOD 2-
Dip a cotton wick in pure honey, and light it using a matchstick.
Pure honey burns, and you can see a flame in the wick.
However, if the honey is adulterated with sugar syrup or water, it will not allow the wick to burn.
If the wick burns, but produces a cracking sound, it is still adulterated.
BEWARE OF THE MYTHS!
Some people claim that if honey is poured, it turns clockwise; or when poured on a plate and covered with water, pure honey forms hexagons. These are outright myths and there is no scientific evidence to these claims. There are several myths about only impure honey dissolving in alcohol, whereas some claims are the exact opposite. These are all false assertions that lack a scientific base. Moreover, it must be kept in mind that you research the brand online before you buy honey. The product must be NMR verified, as the technique detects most possible adulterants, owing to its analysis at the molecular level.
Be an informed consumer.
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