We need pure honey

It is time we outwitted the business of adulteration. This requires government to act decisively. It needs industry to be made responsible. It needs consumers to be made aware of the purity of the honey they consume. This demands change

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IT IS critical that the business of honey adulteration is stopped at the earliest. It will not only benefit the consumer, but also the beekeeper. It will also go a long way in helping restore and regain agriculture productivity and biodiversity. This is because beekeeping is not just about our honey, it’s also about protecting the pollinator bees. But to make this happen, we need aggressive and concerted action—by government, industry and consumers. Nothing less will do.

FIRST: Stop import of syrups and honey from China and do not allow this to come through other countries (syrup laundering)

The much-needed first step is to plug the source and routes of adulteration from China. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry should either regulate the imports of all kinds of syrups and honey or stop it completely. Regulation would need end-use declaration by traders; and links with the honey sector. The ministry should also ascertain that all syrups and honey are imported under the appropriate HS codes and updated database is available publicly. If required, new HS codes could be developed.

However, in our experience, government agencies are completely unable to stop this deviant trade. We have seen how FSSAI has fumbled to check import; it has even got the names of the syrups wrong; it has not been able to check the end users. We also know that this business has a legitimate face—the websites of the Chinese companies do not proclaim their side business of modified syrup. The importers of this syrup will also not say that they are buying syrup that can bypass the lab tests. They will simply say that they are importing fructose or glucose syrup, which has many industrial uses, including honey.