LC-HRMS – A new dimension in Honey Authenticity Testing

Research and development: New detection method for adulteration

Dec 2018. Eurofins Food Integrity Control Services GmbH is the first laboratory worldwide which is able to offer the authenticity analysis of honey by liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) as an ISO 17025 accredited method.

Analytical challenge honey

Today authenticity testing of honey is still an analytical challenge. Within this scope, the detection of honey adulteration with sugar syrups is of particular interest. The composition and characteristics of honeys are subject to broad variation due to the numerous honey varieties and origins worldwide. This makes the detection of possible fraudulent sugar syrup addition particularly difficult. Therefore, many complementary analytical methods have to be currently employed in order to perform a reliable and decisive assessment.

Eurofins Food Integrity Control Services possesses all necessary analytical techniques for honey authenticity testing (including stable isotope analysis, NMR profiling and other specific adulteration detection methods) and is offering the relevant product competence for the accurate assessment of all aspects of honey quality. With respect to developments regarding honey authenticity at EU level and thanks to an internal R&D project in cooperation with our customers we are proud to announce that we have successfully evaluated and validated the cutting-edge LC-HRMS technology for the detection of honey adulteration and is now able to offer this new method as an accredited test for the routine analysis of honey.

The advantages of LC-HRMS at one glance

Enables the detection of known (target) and unknown (non-target) honey adulterants in one analytical test.
Has a significant higher detection sensitivity for foreign sugar adulterants compared to established honey authenticity testing methods.
Is suitable as a multimethod with hundreds of identified marker substances for the simultaneous detection of additions of different types of sugar syrups used for adulteration.
Can replace various single methods for certain types of adulteration and thus helps to reduce the analytical effort in terms of analysis costs and testing efficiency.
Combined with ¹H NMR-Profiling and ¹³C stable isotope analysis (EA/LC-IRMS), it is the most advanced and reliable testing method for honey authenticity on the market.

In our aim to be the leading service provider for food testing worldwide, we always offer our clients the most innovative technology and best possible solutions. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.