Fraudulent honey entering the EU market is a growing concern for Member States, with nearly half of the honey samples tested in a recent EU coordinated action plan (CAP) found to be adulterated, often diluted with sugar syrups. Collaborative efforts from EU organisations such as the EU Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN), European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), and Member States’ Food Business Operators play a major role in combatting honey adulteration and food fraud at the EU level. The recent updates to the ‘breakfast’ directives and in turn the Honey Directive will change how honey is labelled and should bring more clarity for consumers on where their honey is coming from.

This paper considers why honey can be the subject of food fraud in the EU and explores what is being done to prevent fraudulent practices in the honey supply chain. It will also review the effectiveness of the current EU regulations and international cooperation efforts that are designed to detect and prevent honey adulteration and asks what technological and legislative improvements can be deployed to protect consumers and support EU honey producers. The paper starts by exploring the discourse surrounding the relevant legislation in the EU and the promulgation of two CAPs in the past ten years. By considering the experience of Irish honey producers, as well as looking at the wider EU context and what the impacts of fraudulent honey can be, the argument arises that these two CAPs have been essential for getting the EU institutions to take honey and food fraud more seriously, as was showcased by the most recent updates to the ‘Breakfast Directives’.8 Interviews for this research project including with an Irish honey producer, a member from the EU FFN, and a leading EU academic on food labelling, took place in July 2024, in order to test the author’s interpretations and to incorporate perspectives from those implementing the updates into legislation and those most affected by it. The paper concludes by looking to the future and how honey fraud might be tackled on a local, national, and international level.