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Crap honey

chatted to an old friend last week who has several hives in wales. he harvests the honey and sells it via the local pub which gives him the funds for his bar tab!
 
eguth said:
Cannot see the point of buying from local keepers if you want the best, unless local beekeepers show that their raw honey is cold- filtered, bees are not fed sugar, and bees are many miles away from pesticide contamination.

In addition to Wainrights (importer in North Wales - honey from Zambian wild forests) I also buy Littleover Apiary's honey..lovely stuff that meets all my criteria.
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I use Ebru Geven honey which (surprisingly) I can get from my local Morrisons

https://www.grocina.com/ebru-geven-milk-vetch-honey-squeezy-340gr.html
 
At the chestnut festival in Laguépie 82250 they sell double sized jars (1kg?) of chestnut honey for 12€. It’s a dark tan colour with a toffeeish flavour. A spoonful is wonderful in porridge.
 
gustav_errata said:
Man it's exhausting learning about, keeping track of, and avoiding all of the phony junk that's out there.
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If you want to read more about the matter of fake food - this is a great read.
"Olmsted brings readers into the unregulated food industry, revealing the shocking deception that extends from high-end foods like olive oil, wine, and Kobe beef to everyday staples such as coffee, honey, juice, and cheese. It’s a massive bait and switch in which counterfeiting is rampant and in which the consumer ultimately pays the price."

I got it from my local library but here is a link on the books and more beast:
https://www.amazon.com/Real-Food-Fake-Youre-Eating/dp/1616204214
 
Not adulteration reported here but contamination is nothing new - it looks like Scottish heather honey is a good shout.

Levels of Contamination by Pesticide Residues, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), and 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in Honeys Retailed in Europe

...this study was designed to check for the presence of pesticide residues, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels, and the content of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in selected European honeys (26 samples) obtained from shops. The most frequently detected organochlorine pesticide (OCPs) was 4,4’-DDD, which was found in fourteen honey samples. Slovakian rapeseed honey was most polluted due to the presence of eight OCPs. The presence of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) was detected in all the analysed samples, and at least one OP in each tested sample exceeded the acceptable limit. PAHs were detected in most of the analysed samples. As for PAH4s, benzo[a]pyrene was found in forest honey from Slovakia and in Polish lime tree honey, whereas wild flower honey from the UK contained the highest level of PAH4. The investigated honeys from Spain and France met the requirements for HMF content, while honeys of Slovak, Italian and Polish origin in most cases exceeded the established levels (40 mg/kg).

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00244-022-00970-3
 
gavreid said:
Not adulteration reported here but contamination is nothing new - it looks like Scottish heather honey is a good shout.

Levels of Contamination by Pesticide Residues, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), and 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in Honeys Retailed in Europe

...this study was designed to check for the presence of pesticide residues, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels, and the content of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in selected European honeys (26 samples) obtained from shops. The most frequently detected organochlorine pesticide (OCPs) was 4,4’-DDD, which was found in fourteen honey samples. Slovakian rapeseed honey was most polluted due to the presence of eight OCPs. The presence of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) was detected in all the analysed samples, and at least one OP in each tested sample exceeded the acceptable limit. PAHs were detected in most of the analysed samples. As for PAH4s, benzo[a]pyrene was found in forest honey from Slovakia and in Polish lime tree honey, whereas wild flower honey from the UK contained the highest level of PAH4. The investigated honeys from Spain and France met the requirements for HMF content, while honeys of Slovak, Italian and Polish origin in most cases exceeded the established levels (40 mg/kg).

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00244-022-00970-3
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Amazing, we're stuck with the persistent organochlorines but i'd have thought the organophosphates would have mostly been phased out.

Not much news about it in the agric industry apart from outrage every time we lose an active ingredient; major problem is we never know whether this is due to a problem with the chemical or just because no company feels it can profit from reregistration.
 
dweezil said:
Amazing, we're stuck with the persistent organochlorines but i'd have thought the organophosphates would have mostly been phased out.

Not much news about it in the agric industry apart from outrage every time we lose an active ingredient; major problem is we never know whether this is due to a problem with the chemical or just because no company feels it can profit from reregistration.
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The chemical safety bit is strange. About 8 years ago the food industry had to stop using quat-based disinfectants because they were deemed unacceptable as residues in food. OK. However I can still buy mouthwash based on the same stuff. So it's OK for me to put the stuff in my mouth, with some of it inevitably going down my throat, but I can't use it to wipe down a conveyor belt that I'm going to put meat pies down? It's a good disinfectant too - top tip for things like athlete's foot, cuts and grazes, lash some mouthwash on it if nothing else comes to hand, it works a treat and it's safe.

I think that in the case of OC and OP pesticides the difficulty comes from their use in developing countries that don't have the same degree of regulation. They also have different things to consider. DDT for example is banned because of its persistence in the environment and effect on birds, but it IS authorised for mosquito control in malaria zones because it's very effective and there is a human health driver.
 
stevec67 said:
The chemical safety bit is strange. About 8 years ago the food industry had to stop using quat-based disinfectants because they were deemed unacceptable as residues in food. OK. However I can still buy mouthwash based on the same stuff. So it's OK for me to put the stuff in my mouth, with some of it inevitably going down my throat, but I can't use it to wipe down a conveyor belt that I'm going to put meat pies down? It's a good disinfectant too - top tip for things like athlete's foot, cuts and grazes, lash some mouthwash on it if nothing else comes to hand, it works a treat and it's safe.

I think that in the case of OC and OP pesticides the difficulty comes from their use in developing countries that don't have the same degree of regulation. They also have different things to consider. DDT for example is banned because of its persistence in the environment and effect on birds, but it IS authorised for mosquito control in malaria zones because it's very effective and there is a human health driver.
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I've got a daughter working in the banana and pineapple trade, often the chemicals banned in EU were pushed harder in developing countries.

Heard a few horror stories about other crops, one of our inspectors was certifying an organic carrot grower in Northern Africa and was greeted by a bunch of kids playing football with pesticide cans. Yields turned out to be 10x anything possible.

DDT is a problem, some have said that Rachel Carson's influence killed about 18 million.
 
dweezil said:
I've got a daughter working in the banana and pineapple trade, often the chemicals banned in EU were pushed harder in developing countries.

Heard a few horror stories about other crops, one of our inspectors was certifying an organic carrot grower in Northern Africa and was greeted by a bunch of kids playing football with pesticide cans. Yields turned out to be 10x anything possible.

DDT is a problem, some have said that Rachel Carson's influence killed about 18 million.
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who's she?
 
kensalriser said:
Read the report: testing shows it is routinely adulterated with sugar syrup. To be expected, the government is denying there's a problem. Broken Britain strikes again.
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It's not broken Britain, it's a broken world. Chinese sugar syrup sold as honey is all over the planet, except at the places where local authorities protect beekepers.

In my country the Chinese "honey" costs about 4 euros, against 12 eur or more for a proper one. Problem is you are not anymore sure what are you buying.

The island where I live nowadays (Limnos) is famous for one of the best honeys in Southern Europe. Beekeepers place their beehives kilometers away from civilization, villages and roads, deep into Mediterranean fields of wild thyme, sage, melissa and other herbs. As a diabetic I am not allowed to consume honey but here and there I really have to cheat, 1-2 spoons per week are not going to kill me, especially in summer when I can swim and work that extra sugar out. This honey is worth it, it's produced by proud people who would not cheat because they are old world, not industry, they don't live from it and they have values.

I dunno about import rules but if you wish to try, they sell online and all the honeys are from the reputable island producers:

https://www.limnos-shop.gr/product-category/τοπικά-προϊόντα/μέλι/
 
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