DETERMINATION OF HONEY AUTHENTICITY BY CAPILLARY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY

Methodology using capillary gas chromatography was developed to determ ine addition of invert syrups (beet or cane) to honey. Fingerprint oli gosaccharides, which were either not detectable or present in low conc entrations in pure honey were found in these inexpensive sweeteners. O ligosaccharides were analyzed as their trimethylsilyl ethers. Sixty-ei ght pure honey samples produced in continental North America, Hawaii, China, and Australia were analyzed. The detection limit for invert sug ar addition was 5%.