What is blue honey and how is it produced or adulterated?
Executive summary
Blue honey can refer to two different phenomena: an intentional food product created by adding natural blue spirulina pigment to pale honey (reported from Greek company It’s Alive / Cyano) [1] [2], and accidental or fraudulent occurrences where bees produce vividly colored honey after foraging on industrial food waste such as M&M shells — a case documented in France and reported by National Geographic and other outlets [3] [4]. Separately, “adulterated honey” is a long‑running global problem involving cheap syrups (corn, rice, beet, cane) added to honey to raise profit, detected in import testing programs by the FDA and analyzed in scientific reviews [5] [6].
1. Blue by design: Greek spirulina honey aims for novelty and nutrients
A Greek start‑up called It’s Alive developed a bright blue honey by extracting the blue pigment from spirulina and mixing it into a light‑colored orange‑blossom honey so the hue dominates while preserving taste and texture, and plans to export under the brand Cyano [1] [2]. Trade and trend coverage frames this as a deliberate product innovation aligned with 2025 food‑trend attention to novel colors and natural dyes [2] [7]. Available sources state the pigment comes from spirulina and the process is an added step after conventional honey production [1] [2].
2. Blue by accident: bees, candy waste and unexpected colors
Scientists and beekeepers in northeastern France found hives producing blue and green honey after bees foraged on candy processing waste from an M&M production chain; authorities barred sale because such honey did not come from floral nectar and deviated from accepted honey characteristics [3] [4]. This episode shows colored honey can result when bees collect non‑nectar sugars or industrial residues, creating product that fails regulatory definitions and marketability [3].
3. What “adulterated honey” means in law and laboratory practice
Regulatory and scientific sources define adulterated honey as honey to which sugars or syrups (glucose, dextrose, molasses, invert sugar, corn/rice/beet syrups) or any non‑nectar sweeteners have been added, or produced by feeding bees sugar to simulate increased output — practices that misrepresent value and origin [8] [9]. Scientific reviews document health‑ and market‑impacts of adulteration and emphasize it is widespread enough to warrant regular monitoring [6] [10].
4. How adulteration is detected — and where it slips through
Analytical methods such as NMR spectroscopy, isotope ratios (EA‑IRMS), and supervised machine‑learning on chemical fingerprints can identify many sugar adulterants and differentiate authentic honey from samples mixed with corn, rice or jaggery syrups, though some adulterants (notably beet‑derived C3 sugars) can evade detection without targeted tests [11] [12]. Agencies have run import testing: an FDA program found about 10% of sampled imported honey violative for economically motivated adulteration in one sampling campaign, and earlier sampling gave higher rates — underscoring both progress and persistent vulnerability [5] [13].
5. Consumer and market implications: novelty versus fraud
The spirulina blue honey marketed as a value‑added novelty is positioned as a legitimately labeled product using a natural pigment [1] [2]. By contrast, colored honey from bees eating industrial waste or honey mixed with cheaper syrups represent quality and regulatory problems: the former can make the product unsellable under honey standards, the latter cheats buyers and harms honest producers [3] [9] [5]. Market reports show honey is a trendy ingredient in 2025 innovation cycles, increasing incentives for both bona fide reinvention and economically motivated fraud [7] [6].
6. Testing, transparency and what consumers can do
Authorities and laboratories increasingly use advanced chemical analytics to detect adulterants, but detection limits vary by adulterant type and jurisdiction [11] [10]. Consumers seeking to avoid fraud are advised to look for traceable sourcing, third‑party testing or credible local beekeepers; available sources note testing and certification remain uneven and honey is among the top adulterated foods globally [9] [14].
Limitations and open questions — what the sources don’t say
Available sources describe the spirulina procedure and the French candy‑waste incident, but do not provide independent toxicology or regulatory rulings specific to the Greek product, nor do they report large‑scale surveillance data tying blue‑colored novelty honeys to safety concerns [1] [2] [3]. Likewise, while detection technologies are documented, sources note detection of certain adulterants (e.g., beet sugar) remains challenging without specialized methods [11] [12].