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The Testing Laboratory (TL) of the Inspectorate of the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) in Brno was designated by the Ministry of Agriculture as the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for honey, effective from 1 March 2026. With this step, the laboratory joins the key expert institutions within the official food control system in the Czech Republic, in accordance with Article 100 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The laboratory has long specialized in analyses of honey quality and authenticity, including the detection of adulteration. It performs a wide range of tests pursuant to Decree No. 76/2003 Coll. on food commodities, including the determination of physicochemical parameters such as hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content, electrical conductivity, diastase enzyme activity, acidity, water content, insoluble matter, glucose, fructose, and sucrose content.

To detect honey adulteration, for example by the addition of sugar syrups, the laboratory also uses specialized EA/LC-IRMS equipment (stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry), which makes it possible to identify even sophisticated methods of adulteration that conventional chemical methods cannot detect. Sensory analysis of honey is also part of its activities.

The laboratory’s experts are further developing and preparing for implementation an innovative method of quantitative ¹H-NMR spectrometry, which enables so-called honey profiling – the determination of its main components and their mutual ratios. This method provides a comprehensive picture of honey composition (amino acids, organic acids, alcohols, saccharides, HMF, formic acid, and aromatic amino acids) and can be used to detect adulteration.

In the future, TL Brno plans to extend the use of this method to determine the botanical origin of honey, for which it has long relied on cooperation with laboratories abroad.

The issue of establishing and operating reference laboratories is currently being discussed at the level of the EU Honey Platform, an advisory body of the European Commission bringing together experts, representatives of beekeepers, the food industry, and Member States. The aim of this platform, whose members also include representatives of CAFIA, is to combat adulterated honey and strengthen transparency for consumers in connection with the new rules of the so-called “Breakfast Directive.

As the NRL, the TL of CAFIA Brno will provide expert support and methodological guidance to other official laboratories in honey analysis and will thus contribute to the uniform application of food law in the Czech Republic.

Article by: Pavel Kopřiva, CAFIA Spokesperson