Fake Maple Syrup

This video popped up on my feed:

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n4pkaxKNLc

Luc Lagace, the "lab guy" at Centre ACER, doesn't say how they can tell it's 50% cane sugar but I suspect it is done by using the quantity of carbon 13 in the syrup.

A longer form video from Radio Canada is here (unless you can "parlez-vous" turn on the closed captions and autotranslate to English):

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9BzYm4yzg8

C3 versus C4 photosynthesis was mentioned previously but for fake honey:

https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/07/this-isnt-honey.html

I'm not able to taste a difference between cane sugar versus maple sugar but I suspect, as with the honey, that the adulterated syrup is cheaper. The bulging can shown is probably just fermentation, old Steve was a little careless with cleanliness or temperature ? That's why I pressure can my maple syrup - it shouldn't ferment although I do get cloudiness (which settles out) and sugar sand - I get around that by decanting into another container.

Per the all knowing oracle, maple trees and most plants use C3 photosynthesis. Just a few (although agri-popular) use C4:

But here is a kicker, the sugar beet is C3 ? So if the adulterator used pure sugar beet sucrose there might not be a way to tell if they are selling fake syrup ?