Sugar Syrup at £7.50 a lb

[JohnRoss]

I have been at another beekeepers apiary on a few occasions through the summer and despite me mentioning a number of times that you shouldant feed while the bees are producing honey he continues to have a syrup feeder on the top of each hive through the summer full of sugar syrup and a chunk of fondand open at each hive entrance. The fondant seems to be attracting rats and wasps. He is now selling this stuff at £7.50 a lb and people seem to like it. Has anyone else come across this?

 

[victor meldrew]

This sort of practice brings the reputation of local honey producers down !
Get someone to purchase a jar ,take it to trading standards for analysis .
I wouldn't consider this action disloyal in any way .
It needs doing .
VM


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[joctcl]

I thought that was just the Chinese that did that, ask him how he sleeps at night!

 

[psafloyd]

I have been at another beekeepers apiary on a few occasions through the summer and despite me mentioning a number of times that you shouldant feed while the bees are producing honey he continues to have a syrup feeder on the top of each hive through the summer full of sugar syrup and a chunk of fondand open at each hive entrance. The fondant seems to be attracting rats and wasps. He is now selling this stuff at £7.50 a lb and people seem to like it. Has anyone else come across this?

Advise trading standards his honey may not be all it purports to be, explain why, and they will have to investigate.

 

[madasafish]

Attracting rats?

Contact local council...

 

[victor meldrew]

The Chinese produce some excellent honeys it's their method of dealing with the foul brood diseases that renders it less than wholesome !


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[dn170221]

I have heard of it.
There may be an excuse for it if for some reason you liked your honey really diluted or had bees in an area of poor forage.

All the same I would not be an advocate and think those very lame excuses!

 

[JohnRoss]

Yes Rats, One particularly weak hive is down to two seams of bees. It was sitting on the ground in long grass. On opening it most of the wax on the outter frames had been chewed up, there was also knawing arround the enterance and Rat droppings inside.

 

[Dishmop]

The problem with reporting to trading standards is actually finding a telephone number or address for them. I think they have been centralised. Your local council might give you a clue as to how to contact them.

Health dept might be a better bet.
He's guilty of fraud if he calls it pure honey.
He really ought to call it Rat Flavoured Sugar and Fondant Honey....He's not doing anything wrong then.
I suppose he read in a book that you should feed bees.........but never bothered to read to the end of the paragraph.

There was a case where a couple were importing Chinese honey, putting it in jars and calling it UK honey.. I think they got fined nearly £40,000.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I have been at another beekeepers apiary on a few occasions through the summer and despite me mentioning a number of times that you shouldant feed while the bees are producing honey he continues to have a syrup feeder on the top of each hive through the summer full of sugar syrup and a chunk of fondand open at each hive entrance. The fondant seems to be attracting rats and wasps. He is now selling this stuff at £7.50 a lb and people seem to like it. Has anyone else come across this?

Why does he bother with keeping the bees? He could just make up a thick syrup with icing sugar

 

[Dishmop]

Why does he bother with keeping the bees? He could just make up a thick syrup with icing sugar

 

[midnight sun]

This sort of practice brings the reputation of local honey producers down !
Get someone to purchase a jar ,take it to trading standards for analysis .
I wouldn't consider this action disloyal in any way .
It needs doing .
VM


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Agree 100% with you on this VM. The OP should have no qualms about reporting this sort of thing.
To affirm what Dishmop said, the trading standards usually reside in the county council offices these days. (they do in Preston).

 

[wbchive]

+1 for madasafish. If he's attracting rats the Environmental Health Department will be very interested, particularly as he's producing food.

 

[madasafish]

+1 for madasafish. If he's attracting rats the Environmental Health Department will be very interested, particularly as he's producing food.

Precisely.

He's a danger to public heath.

 

[Ely]

Is it not illegal? Or does the honey have to meet a certain percentage?

 

[Dishmop]

Is it not illegal? Or does the honey have to meet a certain percentage?

Depends how he describes it.
If it has a label saying its pure honey...he's a very naughty boy.

If there's no label..you'd have to prove that he had in fact called it pure honey.
Thats why there is a need for Trading Standards to be informed.

Public Health need to be informed regardless of what he's calling it.

 

[derekm]

the honey regulations define honey as
" “honey” means the natural sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant-sucking insects on the living parts of plants which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in honeycombs to ripen and mature; "

therefore this is not honey but honey diluted with honeybee processed sugar syrup.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2243/regulation/2/made

 

[Dishmop]

the honey regulations define honey as
" “honey” means the natural sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant-sucking insects on the living parts of plants which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in honeycombs to ripen and mature; "

therefore this is not honey but honey diluted with honeybee processed sugar syrup.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2243/regulation/2/made

Good job we dont have to put that on labels..

 

[Dishmop]

He could save himself a lot of work if he bought this and put his labels on.http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=258158216

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think I'd rather the rat p!ss and sugar syrup honey substitute @ £7.50 a pound!