Fructose is the principal simple sugar in most honeys, and together with glucose it must meet the combined minimum set out in the EU Honey Directive, making it a core parameter in quality analysis and contract specifications.
In trade practice
Laboratories report fructose content as part of a full sugar profile analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography. Buyers and quality teams use the fructose-to-glucose ratio to predict crystallisation behaviour: a higher proportion of fructose relative to glucose keeps honey liquid for longer, which matters for packaging and shelf presentation. Contracts for liquid honey varieties such as acacia often specify a minimum fructose level. Errors arise when suppliers present only total sugar figures rather than the individual fructose and glucose values required by buyers.
In a specification
Purchase specifications typically state a minimum fructose content in grams per 100 g alongside the combined fructose-plus-glucose requirement, referencing the EU Honey Directive as the compliance baseline.