Is supermarket honey not real honey then?

[FidoDido]

I keep seeing mentions of how supermarket honey isn’t proper honey. How come they’re still allowed to call it honey? What’s it made of then? Is it “funny honey”?

 

[enrico]

I keep seeing mentions of how supermarket honey isn’t proper honey. How come they’re still allowed to call it honey? What’s it made of then? Is it “funny honey”?

Honey is one of the most adulterated foods that are available for sale. Most people wouldnt know sugar water with colouring from real honey. Many come from numerous countries and are blended together to look right. If you don't know the origin of the food source how do you know what is in it? Beehives from Chernobyl maybe
Not all supermarket honeys are bad but I can't buy a jar for the price some of them sell honey for let alone put real honey in it! They may super seive or heat honey to keep it runny, they blend it to keep the texture and colour.
Honey, imho should be as nature intended, spun out of the frame and put in a jar. Each harvest will be different and could be compared like a good wine. Some years are exceptional. Honey should contain pollen and be allowed to age naturally
There really is no comparison

 

[FidoDido]

Honey is one of the most adulterated foods that are available for sale. Most people wouldnt know sugar water with colouring from real honey. Many come from numerous countries and are blended together to look right. If you don't know the origin of the food source how do you know what is in it? Beehives from Chernobyl maybe
Not all supermarket honeys are bad but I can't buy a jar for the price some of them sell honey for let alone put real honey in it! They may super seive or heat honey to keep it runny, they blend it to keep the texture and colour.
Honey, imho should be as nature intended, spun out of the frame and put in a jar. Each harvest will be different and could be compared like a good wine. Some years are exceptional. Honey should contain pollen and be allowed to age naturally
There really is no comparison

Thank you! My bottle of squeezey honey in the cupboard says it’s blended from EU countries (I think).

 

[enrico]

Thank you! My bottle of squeezey honey in the cupboard says it’s blended from EU countries (I think).

To keep honey squeezy it usually needs heating to over 60⁰ or super sieving to remove any pollen that might cause it to crystalise. Both can ruin the taste and smell. It depends if you want a sweet liquid to add sugar to something or if you want a quality product. Very few unheated honeys remain runny for long. It is natural for most honeys to set.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I keep seeing mentions of how supermarket honey isn’t proper honey.

I’ve borrowed this from another beekeeper.

BEE-SPLAINING: Why is Local Honey So Expensive Compared to Supermarket Honey?



As a beekeeper, I often hear these types of questions: Why is local honey so expensive compared to supermarket honey? And, why is local honey so expensive when bees make honey for free? How is it that you can have two nearly identical jars of honey, one imported supermarket honey sold for less than €3, and one local honey sold for three times as much?



To get to the bottom of this, the question really needs to be turned on its head. Rather than asking why local honey is so expensive, we need to ask: why is imported honey so cheap?



Would you be surprised if I told you that the reason why this honey is so cheap is because a lot of it isn’t made by bees at all, it is man-made?



Honey is often quoted as being the third most falsified and adulterated food in the world, with olive oil and milk claiming first and second spot. A recent EU survey showed that nearly 50% of honey imported into the EU was suspect. This means that tests could not determine if the honey had been tampered with, blended with syrups, or was entirely fake. The situation in the US and globally is similar, if not worse.



But, I jump ahead, let’s start by looking at real honey, and what’s in it, and then compare it to fake honey.

Real honey is made from nectar, which bees collect and transform through a process of drying and enzyme addition. It contains about 16-20% moisture, 80% natural sugars (mainly fructose and glucose), and various beneficial components such as pollen, propolis, and enzymes. The type of nectar collected influences the flavour and composition of the honey, with some nectars producing honey that granulates quickly due to higher glucose content. Local honey, often minimally filtered, retains its pollen and other natural components, leading to faster granulation. This granulation is often seen as a sign of authenticity.



Fake or adulterated honey is often honey that has been diluted with cheaper sugar syrups derived from plants like sugar cane, corn, or rice. Colourants and flavourings have then been added to mimic the appearance and taste of genuine honey. These syrups bulk up the volume, making the ‘honey’ cheaper to produce than real honey made by honeybees from plant nectar.



Much of the imported honey also undergoes extensive heating and filtering. Heating prevents granulation by melting the sugars, while fine filtering removes pollen. This process delays granulation and ensures the honey remains liquid for longer, but it also strips the honey of its unique properties and makes it impossible to trace its geographical origin.



Imported honey can come from anywhere. Some of the world’s top honey exporters are China, New Zealand, Argentina, Ukraine, Brazil and India. The issue with imported honey is not that it is imported. In fact, the demand for honey is so big that we need to import, especially in poor years for honey production such as this. Some imported honey is excellent and pure. The problem with imported honey is that there is no way of knowing which is real, and which is fake. This is because, at the point of importation, very little of it is tested to ascertain if it is real honey. Most tests carried out determines if the product is food-safe, but not to verify that it is real honey made by honeybees…



Once the honey has entered the domestic market, it is blended and repackaged. If you look carefully at a jar of imported honey, you will often see the term: Blend of EU and Non-EU Honey in very small print on the lid. There is no requirement to state the ratio of EU and Non-EU honey on the label, which means that one of these blends could contain a minuscule amount of EU honey and a large proportion from countries with less stringent production standards.



The labelling of honey overall is very misleading, not just in Ireland but in the EU and beyond. Much of the imported honey sold on the supermarket shelves are sold by brands with very indigenous sounding names, with the label proclaiming that this or that family business has been keeping bees for generations etc, etc. But if you read the small print, not one drop of honey in the jar is produced domestically. Beekeepers in Europe are lobbying to change the regulation, but it could be a very long process before country of origin and blend ratios are clearly shown on the labels of imported honey.



This clever marketing ploy results in consumers believing that they are buying domestic honey in the supermarket at a much lower price than what the local beekeeper is charging, sometimes giving rise to local beekeepers being told that they are overcharging for their product when the customer can buy 'the exact same honey for half the price in the supermarket…'



Considering how much regulation is involved for beekeepers producing honey domestically, both here in Ireland, the rest of Europe and in the US, the lack of rigorous testing at the point of importation is ludicrous. It is allowing potentially adulterated honey to enter the market unchecked, flooding the market and competing with beekeepers producing real honey. To add insult to injury, the labelling laws are so weak and flawed, that it is allowed to mislead consumers into believing that they are buying a domestic product, when in fact ALL the honey in the jar is imported.



So next time you’re in the supermarket choosing between that cheap squeezy bottle of honey of dubious origin and the honey from the local beekeeper, which is pricier and has started to go a bit cloudy, ask yourself which is more likely to be real honey made by honeybees and not in some factory on the other side of the world. I think you know the answer.



Real honey isn’t cheap, and cheap honey isn’t real.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Thank you! My bottle of squeezey honey in the cupboard says it’s blended from EU countries (I think).

Often it says a blend of EU and non EU honey - so pretty much any old carp. It's difficult to analyse honey to confirm that it has been adulterated and the supermarkets are not bothered. There was so much adulterated honey coming out of China, it can often be routed through another country to disguise it's origin.
And don't get me started on vegan honey!

 

[JamezF]

And don't get me started on vegan honey!

Oh go on, do tell. How do you make a vegan into honey?

James

 

[ldwgs]

Oh go on, do tell. How do you make a vegan into honey?

James

dandilion honey is quite good, I am a vegan and to state the 'rules' vegan do not eat anything that harms a creature or takes its food, a Bee Honey is excess, from the supers, I do eat it as am not taking any Bees food away from them

 

[Paulypaul]

dandilion honey is quite good, I am a vegan and to state the 'rules' vegan do not eat anything that harms a creature or takes its food, a Bee Honey is excess, from the supers, I do eat it as am not taking any Bees food away from them

Sounds like Jain veganism.

What if the keeper accidentally squashed some bees during the management of the hive? - which is what usually happens.

 

[ldwgs]

Sounds like Jain veganism.

What if the keeper accidentally squashed some bees during the management of the hive? - which is what usually happens.

in natural beekeepping Bees die due to lack of care, I'm lucky have a colony who keep out of the way when I'm inspecting, had to look up Jain they don't eat roots! in case micro insects are harmed,

 

[rossbyjove]

I keep seeing mentions of how supermarket honey isn’t proper honey. How come they’re still allowed to call it honey? What’s it made of then? Is it “funny honey”?

Have you seen what they sell as ham ?
They get away with a lot.
Supermarkets and the oil companies ARE the cost of living crisis.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Supermarkets ... ARE the cost of living crisis

Big supermarkets indoctrinated us to believe in cheap food and not to worry about the source of it. We followed the mantra but now struggle to reconcile the results of that choice on the environment and on our health.

Cheap food is in truth, very expensive, but the taxpayer must pay the bill for the consequences of supermarket profit: the NHS reckons it costs £6.5bn annually to deal with obesity, £10bn annually on diabetes, and so on.

Eat less, buy better, buy local, pay more.

 

[rossbyjove]

Big supermarkets indoctrinated us to believe in cheap food and not to worry about the source of it. We followed the mantra but now struggle to reconcile the results of that choice on the environment and on our health.

Cheap food is in truth, very expensive, but the taxpayer must pay the bill for the consequences of supermarket profit: the NHS reckons it costs £6.5bn annually to deal with obesity, £10bn annually on diabetes, and so on.

Eat less, buy better, buy local, pay more.

I live in a village on the edge of Trowvegas.
Pretty much every other person in town is morbidly obese, the rest are overweight.
I'm watching people in their thirties waddling, holding hands with their obese children.
Mobility scooter capital of the UK.
It' a time bomb ticking right under our noses.

 

[Mint Bee]

Big supermarkets indoctrinated us to believe in cheap food and not to worry about the source of it. We followed the mantra but now struggle to reconcile the results of that choice on the environment and on our health.

Cheap food is in truth, very expensive, but the taxpayer must pay the bill for the consequences of supermarket profit: the NHS reckons it costs £6.5bn annually to deal with obesity, £10bn annually on diabetes, and so on.

Eat less, buy better, buy local, pay more.

I think the issue pre dates the supermarkets push, but agree that they are still culpable. post WW2, agriculture was pushed by successive governments to produce as much produce as possible by any means possible. It took decades to see the damage this caused, but we now have a population that were largely weaned on cheap poor quality produced and most are finding it difficult either though habitual or financially situations to change. Responsible food production is not cheap

There also seams to a NIMBY attitude to food production developing where we expect ethical production in the UK, then import cheaper produce from abroad where the welfare and environmental standards are far lower than we would accept at home.

I entirely agree with Eric' mantra - Eat less, buy better, buy local, pay more - although sometimes I slip

 

[Newbeeneil]

I think the issue pre dates the supermarkets push, but agree that they are still culpable. post WW2, agriculture was pushed by successive governments to produce as much produce as possible by any means possible. It took decades to see the damage this caused, but we now have a population that were largely weaned on cheap poor quality produced and most are finding it difficult either though habitual or financially situations to change. Responsible food production is not cheap

There also seams to a NIMBY attitude to food production developing where we expect ethical production in the UK, then import cheaper produce from abroad where the welfare and environmental standards are far lower than we would accept at home.

I entirely agree with Eric' mantra - Eat less, buy better, buy local, pay more - although sometimes I slip

My daughter is senior communications manager for Compassion in World Farming and has spent the last decade trying to get live exports banned because it’s cheaper to cart animals across Europe to slaughter than do it in the UK and send them frozen.
They finally got the UK government to ban it earlier this year.
I think caged hens is next on the agenda!
I agree, eat less of better quality!

 

[Erichalfbee]

They finally got the UK government to ban it earlier this year.
I think caged hens is next on the agenda!
I agree, eat less of better quality!

Let’s hope this lot don’t backtrack.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Let’s hope this lot don’t backtrack.

From her negotiations with them she seems hopeful.

 

[thorn]

I live in a village on the edge of Trowvegas.
Pretty much every other person in town is morbidly obese, the rest are overweight.
I'm watching people in their thirties waddling, holding hands with their obese children.
Mobility scooter capital of the UK.
It' a time bomb ticking right under our noses.

Much of the blame for obesity must be laid at the door of Coca Cola and the like. The drink and the problem hit the US a generation or two before it hit the UK. It's conditioned children to like their drinks sweet. American beer and wine and Starbucks coffee are all much sweeter than their European equivalents, and to me are unpalatable. But younger folk think the sweetness is attractive and normal.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I think the issue pre dates the supermarkets push, but agree that they are still culpable. post WW2, agriculture was pushed by successive governments to produce as much produce as possible by any means possible. It took decades to see the damage this caused, but we now have a population that were largely weaned on cheap poor quality produced and most are finding it difficult either though habitual or financially situations to change. Responsible food production is not cheap

Like it or not values and perceptions have changed. I look back to my post ww2 childhood when no one thought twice about eating misshapen, scabby vegetables once peeled and cooked. Sharing fruit with fauna wasn't uncommon as trees weren't routinely sprayed (what's worse than finding a worm in your apple? Finding half a worm). Nowadays there's uproar and folk dash off to the papers who gleefully print tales of woe so Sharon or Errol gets five minutes of fame and a shopping voucher by way of apology. Don't get me started about condensation in flats with doors and windows shut and washing drying on radiators.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Much of the blame for obesity must be laid at the door of Coca Cola and the like. The drink and the problem hit the US a generation or two before it hit the UK. It's conditioned children to like their drinks sweet. American beer and wine and Starbucks coffee are all much sweeter than their European equivalents, and to me are unpalatable. But younger folk think the sweetness is attractive and normal.

I do admit to enjoying an ice cold coke but look back fondly to teenage years consuming Blue triangle Bass.