Global press coverage for beekeeper fighting honey fraud

Somerset beekeeper Lynne Ingram, MB, NDB, has taken her fight against honey adulteration global.
Lynne has secured headlines in media titles around the world for her work with the Honey Authenticity Network (HAN UK) and scientists at Aston University.
Putting the spotlight on honey, she explains that beekeepers are being forced out of business due to cheap, adulterated imports. The UK is the second largest importer of honey in terms of volume in the whole of Europe and China is its top supplier. 
When beekeepers go out of business due to unfair competition, the risks to crop pollination and food security increase. 
Lynne, who is the BBKA's honey ambassador, wants the new government to acknowledge there is a problem.
"We want consumers buying honey to have confidence that they are purchasing a genuine product at a fair price and have the information to make an informed choice," she said.
The BBKA advocates, where possible, to buy honey from a local beekeeper which should ensure authenticity.
In May, the European Union updated its honey regulations to ensure clearer product labelling and a 'honey traceability system' to increase transparency.
On the labelling for blended honeys, for example, all countries of origin must be listed on the product. Labelling in the UK is not as stringent and Lynne believes consumers are 'being misled' by the packaging.
The UK is the second largest importer of honey in terms of volume in the whole of Europe. China is its top supplier.
Meanwhile, researchers at Aston University are using light to reveal the contents of honey samples at the molecular level in an effort to combat honey fraud.
The technique—known as Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Spectroscopy (FLE)—involves firing lasers into samples.
The light frequencies re-emitted are then collated into a three-dimensional image—or molecular fingerprint— of the honey tested.
Alex Rozhin, the project lead and a reader in nanotechnology at Aston, said that FLE is more accurate than existing tests and can provide results far more quickly and cheaply.
Eventually it is hoped to produce a version of the test which can be used on a smartphone.