Honey Authenticity

[NigelP]

Seems what we UK beekeepers have been saying for years has now been confirmed. All UK honey fails EU authenticity tests. That is honey on supermarket shelves and that for export to the EU from the UK.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/26/uk-honey-fails-eu-authenticity-tests/

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/mar/26/uk-honey-fails-authenticity-test

[Ben Framed]

"Arturo Carrillo, the Mexico-based coordinator of the international Honey Authenticity Network, which has conducted tests on UK supermarket honey indicating adulteration, said: ?The UK is flooded with very cheap adulterated honey imported from China. What is disappointing is that the British authorities have been very, very much reluctant to accept and address this tremendous problem."

Nigel considering your entire posed article, (which the above paragraph is only a portion of it), I suspect we may have the same problem here also. We have discussed the problem with imported honey from other countries such as China, here on the forum a few years ago which left me astounded. If I'm not mistaken Bill from Australia, "eltalia", had posted comments on the matter as well.


Phillip

[Michael Bush]

When we outlawed the import of honey from China over antibiotics in the honey that are not approved for humans in the US, all of a sudden all sorts of small countries in Asia, and other places started exporting huge amounts of honey to the US.  It's kind of obvious that this is Chinese honey, yet very little is done to stop it.

[The15thMember]

This is why I would never, under any circumstances, buy grocery store honey.  Unless of course it was from a local apiary selling in the grocery store.  But as for just store name brand honey, eww, no thanks.  Who knows where that stuff has been or what is in it.  I'll get my high fructose corn syrup and off-label antibiotics elsewhere, thank you very much. 

[NigelP]

. What is disappointing is that the British authorities have been very, very much reluctant to accept and address this tremendous problem."
Phillip

Tell me about it!! There has been a recent petition to get the UK government to label all  the "countries of origin" used in blended honeys.
Currently the non descript, "product of more than one non EU country" suffices (read China).
I don't hold my breath for anything happening soon....currently honey and its authenticity is well down the list of political "to do's".

[The15thMember]

. What is disappointing is that the British authorities have been very, very much reluctant to accept and address this tremendous problem."
Phillip

Tell me about it!! There has been a recent petition to get the UK government to label all  the "countries of origin" used in blended honeys.
Currently the non descript, "product of more than one non EU country" suffices (read China).
I don't hold my breath for anything happening soon....currently honey and is authenticity is well down the list of political "to do's".

I imagine that the more people buy real local honey the better, because it's not profitable for anyone to sell something no one wants to buy.  Hopefully the report will convince more and more people to support their local beekeepers instead of international sugar scammers. 

[cao]

This is why I would never, under any circumstances, buy grocery store honey.  Unless of course it was from a local apiary selling in the grocery store.   Who knows where that stuff has been or what is in it. 

You truly do not know what is in the honey unless you talk to the beekeeper producing it.  Even "local honey" sold in the grocery store could be anything.  A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting the father of the owner of a local apairy ,who's address is about ten miles from my house.  His family sells to all the local grocery stores.  He was asking me if he could send people my way if they wanted raw honey or wanted to buy bees.  Come to find out, they only had a handful of hives now.  They now get all of their honey from some Mennonite in central Indiana. Basically all they do now is bottle honey, which is heated and filtered.

My customers know exactly where my honey comes from because they can see my hives. 

No one knows where their food comes from is a problem all across the food industry.

[Skeggley]

There has been a recent petition to get the UK government to label all  the "countries of origin" used in blended honeys.
Currently the non descript, "product of more than one non EU country" suffices (read China).
I don't hold my breath for anything happening soon....currently honey and its authenticity is well down the list of political "to do's".

We?ve had a petition here on Oz for the same on the Change.org platform with over 300000 signatures. Been going for a few years now with no headway.
My thoughts are that labelled or not most who purchase these products from the supermarkets wouldn?t read the label or care, anyone who really cares buys from their product from local suppliers already.