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Problems In the Honey Industry
Seventy percent of honey consumed in the U.S. is imported. In 2022, the FDA made this comment on imported honey: “Simply put, consumers are being cheated.” With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, deception in the honey industry is well concealed and ferociously defended.
What is Honey?
Honey is a one of a kind crop made by bees primarily from the nectar of flowers. Its characteristics vary based on the nectar sources available. Humans cherish honey for its unique flavors, aromas, and many incredible properties. Honey is antimicrobial, full of minerals, antioxidants, and can be stored indefinitely. Unfortunately, due to the high value of honey and its high susceptibility to fraud, it is recognized by criminals and shady businesses worldwide as an opportunity for financial gain.
Examples of Honey Fraud
The Honeygate Scandal of the early 2010s (United States v. Alfred L. Wolff GMBH) is the most significant example of food fraud in American history. Chinese honey contaminated with a banned antibiotic (known to cause a fatal bone marrow condition in humans) made its way into American grocery stores. More recently, (2022) the FDA released test results of 144 samples of imported honey. Ten percent of those samples failed testing for adulteration and were refused entry into the US. A similar European testing effort flagged 46 percent of the honey sampled.
Economically Motivated Adulteration
Economically motivated adulteration (EMA) refers to practices that dishonestly increase the profitability of a good by increasing its quantity or perceived value. Here are some other products that are very susceptible to EMA: seafood, olive oil, and fruit juice. In the case of seafood, less valuable species can be swapped for more valuable species. For example, tilapia filets can be sold as flounder. Olive oil can be blended with much cheaper seed oils. Water and frozen juice concentrates can be added to so-called freshly squeezed juice. For foods containing DNA, like seafood, DNA testing can be used to verify species. Many other foods unfortunately cannot be tested so definitively. Fruit juices are easy to adulterate and difficult to authenticate, just like honey. Listed below is an outline of the main methods of adulteration in honey as well as other related issues:
Adulteration
Misleading Labels
Other Issues
Honey Mixed With Syrup
Diluting honey with syrup is the primary mode of EMA. Cheap syrup can be mixed with a small amount of honey and sold as real honey for a huge profit. Neither human senses nor state of the art testing can reliably detect all of this adulteration. Teams of scientists hired by criminals help to defeat even the most thorough tests. These criminals push the limits in terms of how much syrup can be added to honey while still passing tests. Unfortunately, many of the best tests and certifications currently available have already been defeated by criminals.
Feeding
Feeding bees is unethical when it is done to produce imitation honey. Syrup fed to bees during the honey production period is taken into the hive and treated like nectar by the bees. They introduce enzymes into the syrup and cure it. The end result resembles honey but is only an imitation. It lacks the wonderful flavors, colors, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals of real honey produced by bees foraging in nature.
Artificial Ripening
In real honey production, honey is removed from colonies once the bees cover the cells of honey with wax. It takes weeks for the honey to be ready to harvest. With artificial ripening, syrup can be fed to bees, quickly harvested, and pumped through a honey drying machine. The watery syrup then attains the viscosity of honey. The process can be repeated in quick succession and produce many batches of imitation honey. This is not real honey or real farming but rather an industrial shortcut to avoid many of the difficulties of honey production. The final product, however, lacks the diverse, wholesome, delicious, and natural qualities of real honey.
Misleading Labels
Misleading labels are often attached to honey plagued by the issues already discussed. Deceiving consumers about the origin of honey can prove very profitable. Shoppers often wish to select honey according to its geographical origin or other unique qualities described by the label. Unfortunately, label regulations for honey are currently relaxed, poorly enforced, and easily exploited for financial gain. This is a problem for labels on jars in grocery stores as well as labels on bulk containers of honey transiting worldwide.
Transhipping: Honey Laundering 101
Transhipping uses an indirect route to move cargo from its origin to final destination; this allows goods to be moved freely and efficiently. Unfortunately, it can also be used in the most basic of honey laundering schemes. Here is the general formula: honey from country A is shipped to country B; the honey is then falsely labeled product of country B; finally, the mislabeled honey is warmly received by country C. This tactic was used extensively in the Honeygate scandal and is undoubtedly still a massive issue. Few governments have the capacity to stop such activity. Fighting the flow of Illicit honey, understandably, is not a primary focus of customs and border protection agencies worldwide.
Filtering
Honey directly after the harvest is full of natural debris. Some sort of clarification process is necessary. Consumers would otherwise have to accept excessive wax, bee parts, and other debris in their honey.
Filtering is the process of pumping warm or hot honey through a filter to remove suspended particles. For filtering as opposed to straining, pressurization is required which necessitates higher temperatures to allow honey to flow through a more restrictive filtering medium. Filtering can be justified because it removes debris, it makes honey brilliantly clear, and it can reduce crystallization of honey. Some operations use filters coarse enough, in theory, to allow the passage of pollen. If clogged with wax, a filter can strip out finer particles than the mesh size would suggest. The honey produced from such a filtration process will be clear, bright, and likely of very high quality. However, in terms of preserving pollen, it seems that gently filtering honey is easier said than done. See the quote below from Dr. Vaughn Bryant, a beekeeper and pollen grain analysis expert at Texas A&M University, from his September 2017 article in Bee Culture Magazine:
"More than one beekeeper has told me that they used the commercially available “200-micron filter,” which should not trap any pollen because no pollen grains are larger than about 120-150 microns and most pollen grains are much smaller than that. That statement is true, however, again we found that the problem occurs when the 200-micron filter becomes clogged with wax and debris and then is discarded with pollen trapped in the discarded debris."
Ultrafiltration
There is a difference between the normal filtering mentioned above and ultrafiltration done specifically to hide or remove certain components from honey. Resin filtration is a technology growing in popularity in Asia for processing honey and fruit juices, among other things. It is used to salvage very low quality honey. For example, honey with a very unpleasant aroma, high levels of antibiotics, or HMF (a naturally occurring chemical that provides clues both of origin and improper handling) can be scrubbed of the undesirable components that would otherwise be detected during testing or even by the consumer. The final results are neutral in taste and odor. A neutral honey like this can be easily blended with other honey and pass testing.
Testing
There are several testing methods used to determine the origin and authenticity of honey. Multiple tests are often applied to the same sample for increased testing capability. Still, most tests can be defeated by motivated criminals. This is the ultimate problem in the industry and the one that allows most of the others to exist.
Pollen and Basic Analysis
Analysis of pollen and the basic chemical composition of honey were once the main techniques used in testing. They have lost a great deal of importance due to the development of more sophisticated adulteration methods. Pollen analysis is done under a microscope by highly trained individuals who are able to visually identify the pollen present in a sample. They can then assess what plants were used by the bees to produce the honey. This also indicates the geographical origin. Basic chemical analysis detects crude forms of adulteration such as mixing honey with corn syrup. It will not detect the sophisticated adulterating syrups available today.
Isotope Testing
Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) can identify foreign sugars in a sample of honey that come from specific classes of plants that do not belong in honey. IRMS is based on the principle that plants do not not all process carbon the same way. The two relevant categories are C3 and C4 plants. Most nectar sources bees use come from C3 plants. Therefore, if a large proportion of C4 plant based sugars exist in the honey, that is evidence of adulteration. This is probably the most widely used form of testing and it is also readily defeated by the newest adulterating syrups.
More Advanced Testing
Some of the more advanced tests include High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR). NMR provides an in depth view of the molecular structure of a sample of honey. A sample’s profile must be compared to the profile of a sample of honey from that same region. There is currently no silver bullet which can overcome the problem of adulterated honey. All existing tests have limitations and can be defeated by certain measures. Though these tests (and all tests) are still valuable, it is important to remember their effectiveness is likely fading with every passing day as criminals continue to work on scientific solutions to defeat them.
How to Find Good Honey
For those who enjoy high quality honey and want to avoid scams, there are two main options:
The first option is the easiest and can be implemented immediately. No lab equipment or extensive knowledge is necessary. Just remember that most honey sold in the US is imported, much of it is adulterated, and honey labels tend to be sneaky. Avoid suspiciously cheap honey. Real honey is expensive to produce. If a label suggests the honey is local or American, look closer. There will often be fine print admitting otherwise. Honey is a product that should be purchased cautiously. If possible, buy honey from beekeepers you know and trust.
The second option is highly recommended but not for the faint of heart. Beekeeping as a hobby will supply a family with high quality honey and a new appreciation for bees and the hard work done by commercial beekeepers. This is probably the only way to begin to understand the real value of honey. The questions of quality and purity will be answered but new questions will emerge: why did my bees all die? Do I really have to treat for mites? Am I allergic to bee stings or is this swelling normal? How do I keep bears from destroying my hives? How do I deal with wax moths and small hive beetles? Is this even worth it?
540–308–6162 | Jordan@blitzbee.com
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