The sticky truth about 'fake' honey

Honey adulteration has become one of the most widespread food-fraud problems globally and South Africa is far from immune. Prof Robin Crewe and Jan Steenkamp spoke to Glenneis Kriel about this growing threat to consumers, beekeepers, and the future of the honey industry.

- Glenneis Kriel

Across the world, jars labelled as pure honey are increasingly being found to contain sugar syrups or blends of uncertain origin.

Prof Robin Crewe, who serves on the Fake Honey Committee of the international federation of beekeepers' associations, Apimondia, says the US Pharmacopeia's Food Fraud Database has ranked honey as the third most targeted food for adulteration, after milk and olive oil.

He attributes this to global demand outpacing production, the lucrative opportunities for fraud, and the inherent difficulty of testing honey for authenticity.

An EU investigation conducted between November 2021 and February 2022 exposed the extent of the problem. Of 320 honey samples tested at EU border posts, 147 (46%) were suspected of being adulterated.

The highest number of suspicious consignments originated from China, while honey from Turkey showed the highest rate of suspected fraud. Hundred percent (10 out of the 10 samples) of the honey imported from the UK was found to be problematic, though traceability suggested it had been processed or repackaged there before being reexported.

The same investigation revealed that nearly two-thirds of exporters sampled had shipped honey suspected of adulteration, and two-thirds of importers had received at least one such consignment.

For Crewe, these figures underline a global crisis in food authenticity and honey production.

“Consumers are being deceived on a massive scale, undermining trust not only in honey but in the entire food system. It also undermines honey prices and the viability of many beekeeping operations, to such an extent that it has led to the concept of beekeepers being an ‘endangered species,” he says.

SOUTH AFRICA’S BLIND SPOT