Identification of the rice syrup adulterated honey by introducing a candidate marker compound for Brown rice syrups

Identification of honey adulteration is an important area to ensure product safety and quality. White rice syrups (WRS) or brown rice syrups (BRS) can be used for honey adulteration. Up to date, qualitative analysis of 2-acetylfuran-3-glucopyranoside (AFGP) and the quantification of the arsenic residue are the commonly preferred methods to detect rice syrups (RS). We have figured out the BRS may have very low amount of AFGP. Therefore, it was estimated that AFGP alone may not be a very reliable marker for BRS identification. We aimed at identifying a new marker compound for BRS and to develop a novel analytical method that allows simultaneous monitoring of this compound and AFGP to highlight the addition of RS from different origins. The characteristic molecule in BRS was identified as sorbic acid. A UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed by combining dilute & shoot sample pretreatment and 107 samples were analyzed. While 21 of the samples were found adulterated with BRS, 3 samples were found to contain WRS. We suggest using sorbic acid as a marker of BRS addition to honey. Within this research, it was hypothesized that fraudulent was mostly made with BRS and adulteration may be overlooked applying the existing methodology. [Display omitted] •Establishing a novel and validated adulteration marker for honey adulterated with rice syrup.•Straightforward, rapid, and feasible UHPLC-MS/MS method to detect honey adulteration.•Template methodology for candidate marker selection and identification.•Effective workflow ranging from the untargeted approach to targeted quantification.•Comprehensive investigation of the adulteration frequency based on rice syrup usage.