Honey local tests and therapies

Emmanuel Olagbaju, Nigeria

Adulterated honey

Awareness of the importance of honey is increasing and nowadays it can be difficult to find sufficient honey to meet the growing demand. However, there is slow advance in the apiculture sector, and even little involvement in it, resulting in low supplies of local honey. Instead of researching ways by which these low supplies can be improved, many honey vendors have developed methods for adulterating honey. Consumers want authentic honey and users are concerned how to distinguish real from adulterated honey. Interviews revealed the wing ideas:

1. Dip your finger into the liquid. As you lift your finger out, observe whether the substance drops immediately - if it does drop straighaway, then it is not honey. (Honey is very viscous).

2. Drop some liquid to the ground and observe. Honey does not flatten, but forms small balls: if the liquid does otherwise it is not honey.

3. Drop liquid into water and observe. If it sinks without mixing with the water it is honey, otherwise it is adulterated.

4. Dip a matchstick into the liquid and then strike the match. If it ignites the substance is honey, otherwise it is adulterated or fake.

Honey adulteration

Sugar Syrups, corn syrups, and syrups of natural origin such as maple, cane sugar, beet sugar and molasses are used to adulterate honey. Informed consumers are able to taste the difference between these and real honeys, but laboratory tests are needed to prove the difference. This is why honey marketing is so dependent upon building consumer trust that the product being bought is real honey. Some people think that honey which has crystals in it may be adulterated with sugar but this is not the case - crystallisation of honey is a normal process.

Testing for adulteration with sugar

A laboratory test would have to be performed on the sugars present in the honey and the results compared with the national or international! honey standard. Evidence of a large proportion of glucose compared to fructose would suggest sugar had been added.

Checking for adulteration with water

Honey with a high water content may be unripe (harvested too soon), or may be a mixture of honey and water. In either circumstance the honey quality is poor and fermentation may result. Water content is tested with a refractometer. Unadulterated, ripe honey has a water content of 23% or lower.

In addition to sweetening, honey is used in Nigeria for the treatment and prevention of various ailments.

*The original article has a table showing some of the local applications and their recipes for treating various aliments which is not available on this mobile friendly version