Thread by @BlackDogHoney

Catching up on news, since we've been away, and this is one of the first tweets to catch our eye!

It would be better to explain how, or why, it is possible to fail an authenticity test, than to promote the failure of all UK tested honey.

So here goes... 1/20

@apimondia

https://twitter.com/britishbee/status/1639918233988878336

Honey, in England, must comply with the Honey Regulations (England) 2015, and in those Regulations, there are maximum and minimum levels of things to comply with.
Sugar and water content, insoluble particle content, even electrical conductivity of honey, amongst other things.

During winter, before the season, and at the end of the season, it is common for beekeepers to feed their bees a syrup or solid, made from sugar.
The bees can move this feed around the hive and store it.
It is possible for this stored feed to be harvested, if in a honey frame.

It would not be intentional to harvest sugar which has been moved by the bees, but if so, this could be detected in a laboratory and fail a test, at a microscopic level.

If honey is crystallised and set, it would usually need to be warmed before it is decanted into jars.
Age of, and warming honey, if too quick/hot, can change the chemical composition of honey, and this too can be detected, by changes in Diastase and Hydroxymethylfurfural content.

Also, if honey is micro filtered, to remove particles, then pollen can also be removed, by the incredibly fine filtering process. This can be detected, or shown to have occurred, and also fail a test, and considered to be adulterated honey.

Some honey can be so finely filtered, that all of the pollen is removed, and pollen would need to added back to the filtered honey.
This pollen, if from another flower crop or even country, can change the considered origin of the honey, which would be manufactured/adulterated.

Honey can be diluted, to turn it back to a liquid for filtering and to flow through pipes and filters, and then dried again by passing it through warm air blowers, to remove the moisture content. This too, can be detected and considered to be adulterated honey.

All of the above can happen in the manufacturer or process, in large scale honey production.
All of the above can be detected and cause a strict test to fail.
Failure, will cause the honey to appear adulterated.
Adulteration can be a consequence, even if not deliberate.

To say that all UK honey tested, is adulterated, is damaging to the UK honey market, unless the process is explained.

If however, a honey producer has deliberately deceived the market, the public, and the consumer, then they deserve to be named and shamed and to be prosecuted.

Honey produced in China is often reported to be fake honey, made by sugar syrup and corn syrup, with a little bit of honey added.
We have yet to see anyone prove this by one single or specific manufacturer, or a consequence delivered to any Chinese producers, and do not claim it.

That said, if you buy a blend of honeys, commonly sold for less than a British Sterling Pound, in supermarkets, then you'd be foolish to think it is pure unadulterated honey, straight from a beehive.

Now, if you buy your honey from a small scale beekeeper, or direct from a bee farmer, you will stand a better chance of knowing exactly where it came from, with full trace and accountability afforded to that honey, knowing the area, the field, or the actual beehive origin.

Honey would appear to be easy to fake, and syrup additives can be purchased online, from sites such as Alibaba, that are manufactured, advertised, and sold, purely for the purpose of passing strict authenticity tests.
Sold by the barrel and shipping container load.

Some Chinese Honey may have these syrups added to them.
Some Chinese Honey may be sold to another country, and then blended with that country's honey, to change the origin of the mixture being sold to another country, adopting it's place of origin for the blend.

That mixture, or blended Honey, may then be sold to another country, and so on. Until that Blend of EU and Non-EU Honey reaches a UK packer, where it is STILL cheaper than the same quantity of UK produced honey, which has not travelled around the world.

All those who say All Honey Tested Failed, should also say how it is possible to fail, as not all failed honey is deliberately adulterated.

It's unlikely that you'll hear from those honey producers, who's honey failed the tests, and who now have adulterated honey, over them.

UK bee farmers do not deliberately adulterate their honey, and not all UK bee farmers have a nuclear or chemical laboratory to test their honey, make a claim, or dispute any, to ensure their honey is 100% authentic.

Not all UK bee farmers pack their own honey for retail sale.

Not all UK honey, originates in the UK, if it is imported as a blend.
Some supermarkets have stores in other countries, so when they ship their purchased imported honey oversees, it becomes a UK export, and may never have been collected by a UK honey bee.

However, all UK bee farmers will suffer the consequence of a few, as will small business beekeepers, and producers, unless united in the fight against deliberate honey adulteration.
Articles that don't explain any of this, do nothing to help the industry.

Nothing!

Please unroll @threadreaderapp

#Unroll
#BlackDogHoneyBees