Tesco pulls honey off shelves amid purity concerns

[Paulypaul]

Could FSA start doing something?
Could this mean good things for honey-producing beekeepers?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50551385

For further context:
Nine in ten honey samples from UK retailers fail authenticity test.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/20...ples-from-uk-retailers-fail-authenticity-test

 

[Ely]

They should pull it all off if purity is the issue

 

[Erichalfbee]

Could FSA start doing something?
Could this mean good things for honey-producing beekeepers?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50551385

For further context:
Nine in ten honey samples from UK retailers fail authenticity test.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/20...ples-from-uk-retailers-fail-authenticity-test

The bbc article is 5 years old.
I remember it.
I reported Sainsbury’s to my local trading standards. They tested it told me it was adulterated with sugar. Cost prohibited a small office with an even smaller budget taking a well protected supermarket to task. Nothing came of it.
The only reason I knew all this was that the local officer’s wife is a member of my BKA

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

and yet the BFA reports that in general no supermarkets and few honey packers have stated an intention to buy British honey this season

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hardly surprising

and yet the BFA reports that in general no supermarkets and few honey packers have stated an intention to buy British honey this season

Hardly surprising unfortunately

 

[madasafish]

In the US they jailed illegal importers of Chinese Honey.
In the UK, they run supermarkets

 

[Gilberdyke John]

In the US they jailed illegal importers of Chinese Honey.
In the UK, they run supermarkets

Parts of the UK food chain seems best with problems at the moment. Trying to stop cattle farting using chemical supplements has created a furore among consumers. Even my local milkman has circulated all us customers to assure us his supplies are not part of the trials. Auntie Beeb published a recipe which revealed one of the components to be glycol and another chemical (organic?) I'd never heard of with numbers in its name. Comparison with the after effects of Thalidomide have been discussed. I suspect it will run and run.

 

[JamezF]

Trying to stop cattle farting using chemical supplements has created a furore among consumers. Even my local milkman has circulated all us customers to assure us his supplies are not part of the trials. Auntie Beeb published a recipe which revealed one of the components to be glycol and another chemical (organic?) I'd never heard of with numbers in its name. Comparison with the after effects of Thalidomide have been discussed. I suspect it will run and run.

The bizarre thing is that there are probably plenty of modern processed foods that people eat quite happily that have equally unpleasant chemical precursors. The same with drugs.

In this case, the compounds people appear to be up in arms about are silicon dioxide, propylene glycol and 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP). Silicon dioxide is already used as a food additive, as is propylene glycol, which is also used in cosmetics. Both have "E-numbers". 3-NOP is broken down in the cow's gut into compounds that, as far as I'm aware, are already present in cows' stomachs anyhow.

By far the most bemusing of all the tinfoil hat brigade's concerns however, is that the product is part of a plan by Bill Gates to depopulate the planet. I almost wish they were right, because I think they might be a self-selection population that we could do with depopulating...

James

 

[The Poot]

Just for accuracy- the product called Bovaer was produced by or through Arla. Gates is working on another product, but it’s not ready yet.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Both have "E-numbers

everything has an E number - even natural cochineal

 

[JamezF]

everything has an E number - even natural cochineal

Everything that's a recognised food additive, at least. There are some lovely ones, too. Sulphuric acid, for example. Also shellac, paraffin, propane and chlorine. And let's not ignore E901

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

And let's not ignore E901

well how do you think they make brown crayons?

 

[pargyle]

Everything that's a recognised food additive, at least. There are some lovely ones, too. Sulphuric acid, for example. Also shellac, paraffin, propane and chlorine. And let's not ignore E901

James

Or E45 !

 

[JamezF]

Or E45 !

Yeah, I don't think I'd want to eat that. It always seems a bit slimy.

James

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Everything that's a recognised food additive, at least. There are some lovely ones, too. Sulphuric acid, for example. Also shellac, paraffin, propane and chlorine. And let's not ignore E901

James

When I was working in the starch and glucose industry I was bemused that we bought in bulk at high concentration "food grade" hydrochloric acid, sodium carbonate and caustic soda to convert starch into glucose, for neutralizing the product and regenerating ion exchange resin cells. Starch modification also used other "food grade" compounds, none of which were remotely pleasant/healthy for animals or humans to come into contact with never mind consume alone.

 

[Karol]

Parts of the UK food chain seems best with problems at the moment. Trying to stop cattle farting using chemical supplements has created a furore among consumers. Even my local milkman has circulated all us customers to assure us his supplies are not part of the trials. Auntie Beeb published a recipe which revealed one of the components to be glycol and another chemical (organic?) I'd never heard of with numbers in its name. Comparison with the after effects of Thalidomide have been discussed. I suspect it will run and run.

Law of unintended consequences just keeps giving. This is what you get when scientifically illiterate ideologues take over the show. Its all part of the same carbon emissions fallacy that's causing harm and misery for no gain whatsoever.
So when the UK Citizens Assembly considered what the UK's response to the impact of beef/dairy farming on emissions should be it was like watching some Shakespearian comic tragedy only the tragedy is now on the UK populus as a whole. Reminds me of how mad cow disease was caused by substituting ruminant feed with feed pellets formed from ground up scrapie infected sheep.

 

[Wilco]

Grass captures carbon through photosynthesis.
Some of this carbon is stored in soil through dying organic matter.
Soil depth increases if land managed extensively.
Cows eat grass.
Cows burp out some of that carbon.
Cows turn some of that carbon into milk and steak.
Cows defecate out some of that carbon, which fertilises the ground.
Grass keeps growing.

Cows are not net emitters of carbon. This is basic, school level biology of the carbon cycle.

 

[Wilco]

. Reminds me of how mad cow disease was caused by substituting ruminant feed with feed pellets formed from ground up scrapie infected sheep.

Slightly more complex than that but yes... Type of rendering used also had a role. This is one of the reasons we can't feed, swill to pigs any more.

 

[Karol]

The bizarre thing is that there are probably plenty of modern processed foods that people eat quite happily that have equally unpleasant chemical precursors. The same with drugs.

In this case, the compounds people appear to be up in arms about are silicon dioxide, propylene glycol and 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP). Silicon dioxide is already used as a food additive, as is propylene glycol, which is also used in cosmetics. Both have "E-numbers". 3-NOP is broken down in the cow's gut into compounds that, as far as I'm aware, are already present in cows' stomachs anyhow.

By far the most bemusing of all the tinfoil hat brigade's concerns however, is that the product is part of a plan by Bill Gates to depopulate the planet. I almost wish they were right, because I think they might be a self-selection population that we could do with depopulating...

James

I find it interesting that you simply dismiss these as additives in food and therefore as being safe. What's your take for example on silicon reactive disorder? How long should cattle be tested to ascertain the chronic safety of pumping them full of silicon?

Grass captures carbon through photosynthesis.
Some of this carbon is stored in soil through dying organic matter.
Soil depth increases if land managed extensively.
Cows eat grass.
Cows burp out some of that carbon.
Cows turn some of that carbon into milk and steak.
Cows defecate out some of that carbon, which fertilises the ground.
Grass keeps growing.

Cows are not net emitters of carbon. This is basic, school level biology of the carbon cycle.

More importantly, the UK citizens assembly was completely kept in the dark about all of the by products from the cattle industry. So not only as you quite rightly say, are cattle not net emitters, they are the source of countless by products such as leather, lubricants, glidants, medicines, process enhancers (can't make the high grade steel ball bearings for EVs without cattle hooves/bones) etc etc. The environmental including emissions impacts of synthetically replicating all of these by products is completely ignored in all of the assessments (read ideological garbage) produced by the anti carbon emissions brigade.

 

[Dekzion]

Never thought about that side of produce from a cow! Thanks Karol.
The OCD carbon lot have a lot to answer for, just like not allowing peat to be dug and used for seed growing compost. You're not releasing carbon in the air, you're just moving the carbon rich substance from there to yours! And kiln drying wood does not stop it releasing carbon out of the chimney, but that's okay 'cos you can plant a twig to replace that 300 year old tree you've killed.
By the way I burn timber and drive a Derv motor.