Honey is the third most adulterated product in the world (After olive oil and milk). According to testing within the EU in 2015, an overall non-compliance of 20% of samples was found, with 36% non-compliance with honeydew honey and 12% of blossom honey
The adulteration can be because products have had corn or sugar syrup added to it to bulk it out, as well as honey having being harvested before it has been fully ripened by the bees and then the producer has artificially dried the honey to reduce the water content.
The EU is the second largest producer of honey after China, producing 250,000 tonnes in 2015, the three main EU producers are Romania, Spain and Germany. In 2015 the EU also imported an additional 200,000 tonnes of honey, with about half of this coming from China, and the next two main sources were Mexico and the Ukraine.
