DNA, hope for detecting counterfeit honey imported into the EU

Voels (Austria)  – Founded in 2018 in Voels, near Innsbruck, the company Sinsoma is one of the few that uses DNA to verify the composition of honey imported into the European Union, which is often falsified by the addition of sugar. 

“This is really something new for the honey market,” explains co-founder Corinna Wallinger to AFP, for whom it is about staying one step ahead of the cheaters who constantly vary their practices.

The European Union is on high alert: between 2021 and 2022, 46% of the 320 batches tested in 18 states during their importation were potentially falsified, with analyses revealing the unlabelled addition of sugar. The figure was only 14% between 2015 and 2017. 

Among the suspicious batches, 74% came from China, the world’s largest producer, and 93% of the Turkish pallets were questionable. It is prohibited to dilute honey with water or cheap syrups to inflate margins. 

In the face of detection difficulties, Brussels has mandated a group of experts to help it “harmonize methods” by the year 2028. (April 27, 2025)