The Economist on 30th August carried an article saying that according to the National Honey Board, per person consumption of the regurgitated nectar has doubled in America since the 1990s, and as demand has increased, prices have followed, but domestic production has not. This has given honey-sellers an incentive to dilute it with cheaper things like corn, rice and beet syrup. According to the US Pharmacopeia’s Food Fraud Database, honey is now the third-favourite food target for adulteration, behind milk and olive oil. Much comes from Asia, but high tariffs on Chinese honey also leads to diversion and misdescription to avoid these.
https://www.economist.com/united-states/2018/09/01/the-scourge-of-honey-fraud
