Philippines scientists develop test to verify authenticity of stingless bee honey

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December 7, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Local researchers have developed a fast and low-cost method to authenticate stingless bee honey, a high-value product increasingly targeted by mixing with fake or cheaper honey amid rising demand for so-called superfoods.

The team, led by scientists from the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) and the University of the Philippines, combined handheld X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy with machine learning to classify honey based on the bee species that produced it.

“The model confirmed the origin of Philippine stingless bees with 94.1 percent accuracy and 100 percent specificity,” the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs said in a statement.

The researchers analyzed honey samples from the European honeybee (Apis mellifera), the Philippine giant honeybees (Apis breviligula and Apis dorsata) and the Philippine stingless bee (Tetragonula biroi).

The method will help regulators and producers quickly screen products and protect consumers from mislabeled or fake honey.

The handheld devices are also portable and non-destructive, allowing potential use in field checks, markets and processing facilities.

This reliability makes the method a strong screening tool for verifying premium stingless bee honey, which often commands higher prices but is particularly vulnerable to fraud.

The study was authored by Angel Bautista VII (DOST-PNRI), June Hope Aznar (UP Manila), Remjohn Aron Magtaas (DOST-PNRI), Mary Margareth Bauyon (DOST-PNRI), Andrei Joshua Yu (DOST-PNRI), Joshua Kian Balaguer (DOST-PNRI), Jervee Punzalan (UP Manila / University of Otago), Jessica Baroga-Barbecho (UP Los Baños) and Cleofas Cervancia (UP Los Baños).