Fake honey is quietly spreading across Europe, and the numbers show it’s a growing issue. A recent check by the Active Consumers group found that half of the 10 honey brands they tested did not meet basic quality rules. Let’s take a closer look at what these standards are:
- Water content: Should be below 20%
- Electrical conductivity: No more than 0.8 mS/cm
- Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF): Maximum of 40 mg/kg
- Diastase activity: At least 8 Gote units
- Proline content: No less than 180 mg/kg
These numbers help confirm if honey is real and properly made.
What’s Behind Fake Honey?
Let’s break it down. There are mainly two ways honey gets faked:
- Mixing with sugar syrups — Producers add cheap glucose-fructose syrup to increase quantity and lower costs.
- Harvesting too early — Collecting honey before it’s ready raises water levels and drops the quality.
Both methods result in honey that fails to meet natural standards, even though it looks fine on store shelves.
Can You Test Honey at Home?
We checked popular DIY methods found online. Here’s what they claim, and whether they actually work:
🧻 Napkin Test
Claim: Real honey stays put; fake honey spreads with a wet ring.
Reality: Partly true. It can show high water content, but some real honeys, like acacia, spread too. Not fully reliable.
🔷 Hexagon Shape Test
Claim: Real honey makes hexagons when shaken under water.
Reality: False. Honey sinks and dissolves slowly, no matter the quality.
🐜 Ants Test
Claim: Ants avoid pure honey.
Reality: Not true. Ants are attracted to all sugary foods, including real honey.
💧 Density and Dissolution Test
Claim: Real honey is thick and dissolves slowly.
Reality: Sometimes. This depends on the honey type. Thicker honey may pass, but it’s not a perfect test.
The Bottom Line
No home test can fully guarantee if your honey is pure. Honey, like milk and olive oil, is among the top faked foods. With counterfeits getting harder to spot, only proper lab tests can truly confirm quality.