Tips and Advice
How to Identify if Honey is Pure or Adulterated
By
Gretel Morales - 2022-08-11T16:48:02Z
The honey is a sweet food produced by bees, which adds a subtle and delicious flavor to all kinds of drinks and dishes. In addition to its fantastic taste, bee honey has many health benefits. According to the Digital Library of Mexican Traditional Medicine from UNAM, this food is used to treat “sore throats, cough, hoarseness, bronchitis, and laryngitis,” among other ailments. Although bee honey is a must-have in your pantry, it is very common for us to be deceived and sold adulterated honey, which does not have the same benefits as pure honey, but don’t worry, here we explain how to differentiate between adulterated and pure honey once and for all. You can also read: How many types of honey are there and how to identify the best?How to differentiate pure honey from adulterated honey? The Federal Consumer Attorney's Office explains that it is common for bee honey to be adulterated with “commercial glucose, common sugar, or high fructose corn syrup,” so it is important to know the characteristics of natural honey to avoid buying fake honey. Here are the best tips for identifying it, according to experts from Profeco: 1. Experts confirm that honey does crystallize some time after opening it, so if this happens, you will know it is 100% natural. Academic Alfonso Gardea Béjar explains that “crystallization is the best mechanism for storing the honey produced, so that the bees can consume it during times when it is not being produced.” 2. Check the labels, as if it indicates that it contains any additives, then it is not 100% pure honey. 3. Another great tip is to check if it has an expiration date or best before date, as bee honey does not expire or go bad. 4. Pure honey usually has a smell of grass and plant, according to producers. 5. Don't worry too much about the color or smell of honey, as this does not determine the quality of the honey but rather depends on the type of flower and bee. 6. In 2018, Profeco analyzed several commercial honey brands sold in supermarkets and discovered that only one brand adulterated the honey, so mostly, the honey you can buy in stores is usually natural. 7. In the case of bee honey sold in markets or street stalls, you should be very careful, as it is more common for it to be adulterated with fructose syrup, pieces of wax, and dead bees to make it seem like a pure product, according to Ángel López Ramírez, an academic from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics at UNAM. 8. If the honey is being sold at a very low price, it is most likely adulterated. You can also read: 5 ways to include honey in your beauty routine5 types of Mexican honeyAlthough it is said that honey should be of this or that color, UNAM indicates that 5 types of honey are produced in the country, so dare to try something different. 1. Mesquite honey: It is light amber in color and is produced in semi-arid areas. 2. Butter honey: It is produced in Puebla, Tlaxcala, and the State of Mexico. 3. Orange blossom honey: It is produced in orange groves located in Veracruz, Tabasco, and Tamaulipas. 4. Avocado orchard honey: Its main characteristic is its dark color and strong flavor, very different from commercial honey. 5. Honey from Yucatán, Quintana Roo, and Campeche: It is produced with plants such as tajonal and dzidzilché.You can also read: Agave honey: a beneficial or harmful alternative?