Honey is one of the most faked foods in the world. Fraudsters often spike it with cheaper syrups and pass it off as “pure” honey. Since it looks the same, consumers are none the wiser. To help separate the real deal from the fake, scientists have developed a new method of authenticating honey without opening the jar.

A research project led by Maria Anastasiadi, a professor in bioinformatics at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, England, successfully tested samples of honey diluted with rice and sugar beet syrups using a non-invasive light analysis technique.