Jens Roestel, Black Dog Honey, The Nimbin GoodTimes
Australia imports roughly 8,800 tonnes of honey per year.
That honey comes mainly from Brazil, Argentina and China. According to a recent article published by the ABC, Australia never used to import honey until the 2000/2001 drought.
One large well known honey packer based in Brisbane got permission to import about 300 tonnes to supplement the shortfall in production caused by the drought, and was given permission to import more honey during the recent Covid event.
By importing cheaper honey, they are putting pressure on other commercial packers to drive the price down or lose business.
When tested in a recent study about 18 per cent of honey found on Australian supermarket shelves showed signs of alterations. These days companies spend a lot of time and effort to produce fake honey.
Fake honey is basically a small percentage of real honey blended with a lot of other ingredients like corn syrup, sugars, glucose syrups and beet syrups. Some research suggests that some of the fake honey does not contain any real honey at all. Real honey can be tested for the existence of pollen residue. This residue can then be used to determine where the honey was produced.
Over the last few years, reports have shown that honey sold in the European union was tracked from mainland China to the UK. The product was stored, blended, and repackaged multiple times along the way to hide its true country of origin.
During the blending process of the honey, some companies were also adding local pollen to the mix to make it look like a European product.
Honey, together with milk and olive oil takes the top spot on the list of the most faked food products sold worldwide.
How to spot fake honey
- Drop a small quantity of honey into a glass of water. Fake honey will immediately start to dissolve, whilst raw honey will drop to the bottom of the glass intact;
- Place a drop of room temperature or cooler honey on your finger, if the ‘honey’ spreads then it is fake honey. If it holds its composition and remains a drop, then it is raw true honey;
- If you have had your honey for some time and it remains a syrup, then it may be either fake honey or it has been pasteurised. Most real honey crystallises over time.
Needless to say, fake honey is produced at a much lower cost than real honey, which in turn creates financial challenges for local honey producers.
In the US, it is more financially viable for a larger beekeeper to do pollination rather than honey production.
With the current low honey prices paid by commercial honey packers in Australia, it appears that we are heading the same way.
As a customer, if you want to buy real honey and help a local business out, buy your honey and honey products from a local beekeeper instead of the supermarket.
This article appeared in The Nimbin GoodTimes, September 2024.
