Recently published data from an FDA sampling assignment carried out in 2022 and 2023 to test imported honey for economically motivated adulteration (EMA) found that 3% of samples were adulterated. The sampling was designed to identify products that contained undeclared sweeteners that are less expensive than honey, such as syrups from cane and corn. This assignment follows a previous EMA in honey assignment in 2021-2022 and was intended to identify whether there continues to be issues with EMA for imported honey.

Between April 2022 and July 2023, the agency collected 107 samples of imported honey and found three samples (3%) to be violative. In 2021-2022, the agency collected and tested 144 imported honey samples, and found 10% of those samples to be violative. When a sample was found to be violative, the FDA refused entry of the product into the U.S. and placed the associated company and product on Import Alert (IA). The agency stated that it also continues to develop methods to further improve the detection of undeclared sweeteners in honey to protect consumers.

Additionally, the FDA continues to collaborate with its domestic and international regulatory partners to combat economically motivated adulteration of food products, including honey.