ADVANCES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN HONEY AUTHENTICATION TECHNOLOGIES: A MULTINODAL ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Food authenticity has become a critical global concern due to increasing commercialization, complex supply chains, and rising consumer demand for high-quality natural products. Honey, a nutritionally rich natural sweetener with significant medicinal value, is among the most frequently adulterated food commodities worldwide, with fraudulent practices ranging from simple sucrose addition to sophisticated sugar syrup blending, indirect bee feeding, and geographical mislabeling that often evade single-parameter detection. This review critically evaluates conventional and advanced analytical techniques for honey authentication, encompassing chromatographic methods (TLC, HPTLC, GC, HPLC, HPAEC), spectroscopic approaches (FTIR, NIR, Raman, aquaphotomics), mass spectrometric platforms (LC-MS, Q-TOF-MS, EA IRMS, LC-IRMS), and DNA-based methods. The review found that no single technique offers universal detection capability; chromatographic and isotopic methods excel in identifying specific adulterants but are costly and infrastructure-intensive, while spectroscopic tools combined with chemometrics offer rapid screening but lack confirmatory power for low-level or concealed fraud. A multi-layered framework combining rapid non-destructive screening followed by targeted chromatographic–MS and isotopic confirmation emerges as the most robust strategy for reliable authentication. Critical gaps remain, including the absence of standardized reference databases, limited validation of methods across diverse honey matrices, inadequate regulatory harmonization between FSSAI, Codex, APEDA, and EU frameworks, and insufficient detection tools for C3 syrup adulteration and indirect feeding practices. Addressing these gaps through integrated, internationally harmonized analytical approaches is essential for strengthening honey quality assurance and protecting global trade integrity.