Fraud in honey continues to pollute the European market. The French consumer association
Que Choisir
analyzed 40 jars of them for sale in supermarkets, unmasking 18 violations of the rules.
Fraud in honey, the addition of sugar
The so-called ‘honey directive,’ in line with Codex Alimentarius, requires the food to be pure. (1) That is, free of any substance foreign to its natural composition.
Adulterations-through the addition of sugar, corn syrups, beet molasses-are, after all, the most common frauds, as noted above.
1 in 6 honey contaminated with sugar
The French test confirms the topicality of adulteration or contamination of honey with sugar, which was in fact detected in 7 of 40 samples tested. That is, 17.5% of products, 1 in 6. Public veterinary controls in France thus confirm a structural deficiency that the Que Choisir association itself had already denounced, with regard to the (very poor) traceability of meat.
The presence of traces of sugar in honey could, however, have another possible cause, which the analysis cannot discern. In addition to adulteration-i.e., inserting and mixing sugar syrup into honey to increase quantity while reducing costs-contamination from syrup used to feed bees during low flowering may be needed. Again, however, contamination is not allowed and is a symptom of poor attention to good hygienic practices.
The sugary ones
The 7 honey samples ‘positive’ for ‘sugaring’ (to recall another practice, legally widespread in France to produce wine) came from
– China (2 samples out of the 3 Chinese),
– France (2 of 17),
– Italy (1), l’Abeille diligente brand organic honey,
– Latin America (1),
– Australia (1). The latter is a very expensive Manuka honey, sold at 146 euros per kilo for its alleged health benefits.
Two producers of the honeys found to be contaminated with sugar challenge Que Choisir‘s analysis. Aldi says analysis of ‘its’ Simplement bon et bio’ detects no foreign sugars. Same argument for Apidis, which of its ‘L’Abeille diligente’ honey sent analytical results that were contrary to those of French consumers.
Only two French direct-sale beekeepers admit the possibility of an accidental presence of sugar, related to feeding the bees with syrup.
Fraud in honey, the origin doesn’t add up
Lying labeling of the origin of honey is another widely practiced fraud. French consumers cite past cases uncovered by official public controls: a fraud over thousands of tons of Spanish and Chinese honey ‘transformed’ into French. Also, a beekeeper who labeled a lavender honey harvested in Spain and purchased in Belgium as French.
With the exception of one millefiori labeled as Romanian but of uncertain origin (possibly Ukrainian), analysis of the 40 honeys found no anomalies in declared provenance. Rather, it is abnormal not to report the origin, as happens on 9 of the 40 jars of honey sold in French supermarkets and analyzed here. For once, France is a step behind Italy in consumer protection. The mandatory indication of the origin of honey is in fact guaranteed in Italy by Legislative Decree. 179/04, Article 2.4.a. Overseas, however, the law prescribing it was passed in June 2020 but still lacks the implementing decree.
A thousand and one flowers, the other frauds in honey
Other deception about honey concerns its botanical origin. According to the French test, the phenomenon probably affects two samples of the 40 tested:
– a French product marketed online, already noted for the addition of syrup, which advertises itself as acacia honey without having the characteristics,
– an organic honey harvested in Hungary and presented as acacia honey but with the characteristics of a less valuable mixed-flower honey.
When freshness is lacking
To ensure the organoleptic quality of honey, the European directive requires compliance with certain freshness parameters (minimum levels of enzyme activity, in particular), which attest to the product’s good condition. However, 20% of the jars of the analyzed (8 out of 40) did not meet these requirements.
Analyses fail 4 of 6 expensive manuka honeys and 4 other samples imported from China, Eastern Europe and South America.
Among the distributors of the rejected honeys, Aldi disputes the analysis of ‘Simplement bon et bio,’ Comptoirs & Compagnies sent its test results, where it shows that the levels would be in line (though borderline). Carrefour verified the poor quality of the Romanian mixed-flower honey with further analysis and withdrew it from sale.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) Directive 2001/110/EC, concerning honey, as amended. Text updated as of 6/23/14 at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?qid=1635407122853&uri=CELEX%3A32001L0110
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
