Do you trust that the honey you drizzled over your granola this morning was actually honey? You probably didn’t give it a thought; honey is honey, right? Sadly, no. It’s thought that the overwhelming majority of honey sold across the world is adulterated, watered down with sugar syrups to save on costs, and quality.
According to recent research, diluted honey is regularly being sold under the pretence of real honey, and unsuspecting consumers probably don’t know a thing about it.
What Makes Honey Fake and is it Dangerous?
The first thing to note is that diluted honey isn’t inherently harmful to health. So if you have a bottle of cheap, squeezy supermarket honey, you don’t need to immediately throw it away.
Instead, the problem is one of honesty; as consumers, it’s wrong that we should be buying something different from what we think we’re buying.
Whatever we call it, adulterated, diluted or watered down, cheap, fake honey contains some kind of sugar syrup. Most commonly, this means a syrup made using mass-grown, intensively farmed rice, sugar beet or sugar cane. Again, let’s be clear: these products are foodstuffs and not inherently dangerous. But with intensive farming comes pesticides, chemical sprays, habitat destruction and wildlife decimation.
If you think you’re feeding yourself and your family pure, healthy honey and you’re buying convenient, cheap honey, you’re not using what you think you’re using.
The scale of the fake honey problem
The problem appears to be especially rife in the UK, where the Guardian recently reported that a shocking nine out of ten honey samples selected from UK retailers failed an authenticity test. Like something out of CSI, this pioneering test checks the DNA profile of the suspect honey against that of genuine honey. 90% of the samples taken from supermarkets and big brands failed and were deemed suspicious. Interestingly, all of the samples taken directly from local beekeepers passed.
This study adds credence to another, in 2023, that found that 46% of honey imported into the EU was suspected to be fraudulent.
The problem is so widespread that the World Beekeeping Awards body has announced that it’ll no longer be awarding any medals for honey, as concerns about fraud around the world are too great.
How to Avoid Adulterated Honey
The overwhelming majority of honey imported into the EU originates from China. It has a complex food chain that’s nearly impossible for unwitting consumers to trace, and it’s these imports that are the problem.
However, there are some things we can do to ensure our honey is the real deal:
- Avoid cheap, squeezy supermarket honey, however tempting the low price is (there’s a reason it’s cheap!).
- Choose monofloral honey, or at least honey that explains its floral type.
- Avoid honey labels that claim “mixed origin” or from outside of the EU, as this more than likely means China.
- Real honey may crystallise; this is a sign of quality, not cheapness.
- Real honey costs more to reflect the premium quality of a natural, healthy product.Â
Not All Honey is Created Equal
It’s a sad fact of life that quality products get copied and made to a lower standard. Be it handbags, sunglasses, wine or honey. But being aware is important. If you’re looking for quality active honey you can trust, that’s rich in antimicrobials, antioxidants and anti-inflammatories (and tastes amazing), look no further than Necta & Hive.
