| Syrup added to honey | Compositional adulteration | Authenticity — is it what it claims to be? | Sugar syrup mixed into harvested honey, increasingly with syrups made to mimic honey's sugar composition. | A honey with an unusual sugar balance: some genuine honeys are naturally high in sucrose. |
|---|
| Dilution or extension with a cheaper honey | Compositional adulteration | Authenticity — is it what it claims to be? | A valued honey stretched with a cheaper honey, so the blend is sold as something it mostly is not. | An honestly labelled blend, which since 14 June 2026 in the EU names each country with its share. |
|---|
| Sugar fed to bees during the nectar flow | Feeding-related | Authenticity — is it what it claims to be? | Syrup fed while bees are storing honey can end up in the harvest. The JRC calls this indirect adulteration and extremely difficult to detect. | Feeding bees to keep them alive outside the flow, which is ordinary husbandry; correct practice keeps feed out of the honey. |
|---|
| A false single-flower claim | Botanical origin | Authenticity — is it what it claims to be? | A honey named after a plant it does not come wholly or mainly from, or without the sensory, physico-chemical and microscopic characteristics of that plant. | A honey whose pollen share is low for its plant: some plants are under-represented in pollen, and the criteria are specific to each honey type. |
|---|
| A false country or region | Geographical origin | Authenticity — is it what it claims to be? | A honey labelled with a country or region it was not harvested in — including transhipment to disguise the country. | A blend correctly labelled with several countries, or a region the reference data happen not to cover. |
|---|
| Misuse of a protected name | Geographical origin | Authenticity — is it what it claims to be? | A PDO or PGI name on honey that does not come from the defined area or meet the registered specification. | A honey of the same plant from elsewhere, sold under its plant name without the protected name. |
|---|
| Overheating | Processing and condition | Quality — does it meet composition and condition expectations? | Heat that destroys or significantly deactivates the natural enzymes. In the EU such honey may be sold only as baker's honey. | Adulteration. High HMF shows heat or age; it does not show added syrup. |
|---|
| Significant removal of pollen | Processing and condition | Authenticity — is it what it claims to be? | Filtration that removes most of the pollen, which also removes the evidence of origin. Since 14 June 2026 in the EU such honey is baker's honey and is labelled 'intended for cooking only'. | Ordinary straining to remove wax and debris, which leaves the pollen in place. |
|---|
| Fermentation | Processing and condition | Quality — does it meet composition and condition expectations? | Yeasts growing in honey with too much water, giving sourness and foam. | Fraud. A fermented honey is in poor condition, not fake. |
|---|
| Ageing and warm storage | Processing and condition | Quality — does it meet composition and condition expectations? | HMF rising and enzymes falling as honey is kept long or warm. | Adulteration, which these markers do not measure. |
|---|
| Blend origins misdeclared | Traceability and label | Authenticity — is it what it claims to be? | A blend whose stated countries or shares do not match the operator's traceability documents. | Old-format labels on stock placed on the EU market before 14 June 2026, which may be sold until exhausted. |
|---|
| Residues and contaminants | Contaminants | Safety — does it contain something harmful or not permitted? | Pesticides, veterinary medicines, metals or plant toxins in honey, judged against legal limits. | Authenticity. A genuine honey can carry a residue, and an adulterated one can be free of residues. |
|---|