Fake honey

So, maybe buying all that cheap 'honey' from Walmart wasn't the best idea after all.

fake honey detected with laser

Buy local, buy organic. Using fake honey hurts the economy and agricultural systems. Is it really worth the risk to save a few bucks? If you seek out local honey sources, who knows, your mead might even taste better!

Unferth...... if you can, edit that link as it looks like there's many http's and back slashes in it.

We seem to have less of a problem with "fake" honey here but whether thats about the strict EU regs for stuff coming from outside or not I dont know it'd still be worth reading the link to keep abreast of the info....

《edit》Ok, so the link works if the second http and back slashes are removed.

Ha ha! The laser device developed at Harwell eh? Curious as I have a mate that I haven't seen for a few years but was completing his PhD in physical chemistry and worked at Harwell for his research phase....

Either way it sounds like its gonna be a handy tool to have.

After all, just because its cheap honey from Wallyworld doesn't mean that it should be "snide". Sounds similar to all of the horse meat furore that rumbling round the EU at the moment....

Hmm...I worry for my Costco honey now. 12.99 for 5 lbs is a hell of a deal...i haven't had any problems with it though.

JustinCider said:

Hmm...I worry for my Costco honey now. 12.99 for 5 lbs is a hell of a deal...i haven't had any problems with it though.

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THey make sure to check the source from what I read in the recent past. THe last honey I saw there was from the USA and Argentina. (last week)

I got lucky. One of my clients is a bee farmer. He brings me honey whenever he picks up his orders.

fatbloke said:

Unferth...... if you can, edit that link as it looks like there's many http's and back slashes in it.

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I think that did it.

I don't have a problem with people making fake honey and selling it for cheap... there's obviously a market for it. It should just be labelled and checked and all that jazz.

nope, fatbloke, Ya'll don't have fake honey, your honey just has horse meat in it. haha.

You should have a problem with fake honey, its taking money away from American beekeepers, and you have no idea what its made from, your lucky if its just corn syrup. Some of the cheap foreign honey is shipped over in barrels with lead solder, some of it is laced with antibiotics, if you are going to make mead I would think you would want to make sure your have real honey??? WVMJ

Totally agree! My beekeeper loves what he does and the local farmers love that he does it and I love to feed it to my pet yeasts. Full circle microeconomics with 10 miles.

liquiditynerd said:

Totally agree! My beekeeper loves what he does and the local farmers love that he does it and I love to feed it to my pet yeasts. Full circle microeconomics with 10 miles.

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Actually, you need to give your beekeeper some mead to officially close the circle.

Unferth said:

I think that did it.

I don't have a problem with people making fake honey and selling it for cheap... there's obviously a market for it. It should just be labelled and checked and all that jazz.

nope, fatbloke, Ya'll don't have fake honey, your honey just has horse meat in it. haha.

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There's many angles to the horse meat thing i.e. the horse owning middle and upper middle class types getting all precious about their beloved horses, or the liberal types moaning about incorrect/illegal labelling etc, with a few eco nutters saying how its turned them into veggies or even normal working people saying it doesn't really matter as long as its edible and cheap with no food safety issues.

I suppose with the fake honey thing that seems to be mentioned from US sources a lot its more of a labelling thing and that if people want to buy cheap fake honey then as long as its labelled correctly it should be ok so that those who want or need genuine/pure honey can get it without concern..... plus the enforcement authorities can clamp down on such fraudulent activity with a tool like this laser more easily and quickly, to my mind that's gotta be good.

fatbloke said:

There's many angles to the horse meat thing i.e. the horse owning middle and upper middle class types getting all precious about their beloved horses, or the liberal types moaning about incorrect/illegal labelling etc, with a few eco nutters saying how its turned them into veggies or even normal working people saying it doesn't really matter as long as its edible and cheap with no food safety issues.

I suppose with the fake honey thing that seems to be mentioned from US sources a lot its more of a labelling thing and that if people want to buy cheap fake honey then as long as its labelled correctly it should be ok so that those who want or need genuine/pure honey can get it without concern..... plus the enforcement authorities can clamp down on such fraudulent activity with a tool like this laser more easily and quickly, to my mind that's gotta be good.

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I'm with you. I don't have a problem with fake honey, so long as its not posing as real honey.

Organic honey is a healthier choice, some ardent consumers of organic foods also feel that honey produced by organic farmers has a more superior taste than conventionally produced honey, and hence are more ready to pay for the extra cost. I personally also consume such honey but so far could not tell any difference in terms of taste superiority.It tastes different than other Honey varieties and is fast gaining a strong foothold in the honey market. I have been warned that some honey which has been packaged and proclaimed as organic may not be truly organic so we should be very careful while purchasing this.




natural honey
organic honey

Ive seen some sketchy cheap honey that's not honey. But it's labeled "honey flavored syrup" . The only grocery store I buy my honey from is Trader Joes. Otherwise I get it from a farm (during the summer / fall) or get it off an apiary's website.

I posted about this stuff three years ago.

Honey Laundering, the new international scandal.

BogdanBoranda1 said:

Organic honey is a healthier choice, some ardent consumers of organic foods also feel that honey produced by organic farmers has a more superior taste than conventionally produced honey....

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I finally got tired of standing out in front of the hives every morning shouting 'now be sure you only go to the organic farms' at the ladies as they set out for work.

BogdanBoranda1 said:

Organic honey is a healthier choice, some ardent consumers of organic foods also feel that honey produced by organic farmers has a more superior taste than conventionally produced honey, and hence are more ready to pay for the extra cost. I personally also consume such honey but so far could not tell any difference in terms of taste superiority.It tastes different than other Honey varieties and is fast gaining a strong foothold in the honey market. I have been warned that some honey which has been packaged and proclaimed as organic may not be truly organic so we should be very careful while purchasing this.




natural honey
organic honey

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Most of the "organic" stuff is complete bollocks anway. There's been no scientific proof that there's any difference in nutritional value, flavour is relative and the only possible difference between organic and non-organic products is there may, if "treated" at the wrong time and harvested likewise, still be some chem residues in the "non" version of anything.

Honey is different, because unless like ajdelange says, you can convince the damn bee's only to forage from organic crops, then there's no possibility of honey being so called organic.

Hey ho!

If some honey is adulterated with corn syrup anyway, did I give bad advice to the gentleman from S.Korea who was looking to skimp on costs by cutting his honey with corn syrup?

If the crappy honey I am using for my mels is already part corn syrup....