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Crap honey

paulfromcamden said:
Story in the Graun about how pretty much all 'British' supermarket honey is crap Chinese honey adulterated with cheap sugar syrup.

I'd never really thought about it but seems even more reason to buy locally produced honey. Even here in darkest South London there are lots of small producers who sell through health shops and cafes.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/mar/26/uk-honey-fails-authenticity-test
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https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/honey.230571/page-4
 
The fact is the demand for honey (and vanilla) out strips supply. Those crafty Canadians though, they horde Maple Syrup to keep the price high!
 
We found this guy at a country fair in Norfolk pre covid, and he has become our go to for quality stuff (there are plenty others out there) only use supermarket stuff for making BBQ sauces!

http://nicksbees.co.uk
 
paulfromcamden said:
Story in the Graun about how pretty much all 'British' supermarket honey is crap Chinese honey adulterated with cheap sugar syrup.

I'd never really thought about it but seems even more reason to buy locally produced honey. Even here in darkest South London there are lots of small producers who sell through health shops and cafes.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/mar/26/uk-honey-fails-authenticity-test
Click to expand...
It is bland Chinese stuff but it won't routinely be adulterated with sugar, because this is tested for and if it's not what it claims to be then it's prosecution time. The regulatory authorities and retailers carry out testing and act on the results. If you are bent, trading standards will do you, but that's nothing compared to what the retailers will do. They'll sue you until the pips squeak, then they get really nasty.
That said a 46% fail rate and all of the UK samples does look like routine adulteration, which is surprising as I know testing was in place 8 years ago and generally came back clean.
 
What is the deal with the high MGO stuff that is highly priced? I must admit I prefer honey in my morning coffee to sugar but I only have the Rowse stuff in a squeezy bottle, if it turns out to be crap I'll happily spend a bit more.
 
stevec67 said:
It is bland Chinese stuff but it won't routinely be adulterated with sugar, because this is tested for and if it's not what it claims to be then it's prosecution time. The regulatory authorities and retailers carry out testing and act on the results. If you are bent, trading standards will do you, but that's nothing compared to what the retailers will do. They'll sue you until the pips squeak, then they get really nasty.
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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.
 
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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Just have, as you say the fail rates do look like routine adulteration. It's surprising because 8 years ago I did some work for a honey manufacturer and they routinely tested with routinely negative results. Perhaps we have gone backwards.
 
matt j said:
What is the deal with the high MGO stuff that is highly priced? I must admit I prefer honey in my morning coffee to sugar but I only have the Rowse stuff in a squeezy bottle, if it turns out to be crap I'll happily spend a bit more.
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Check the label. Rowse does some English honey but I'm pretty sure that the stuff in the squeezy bottle is the "product of EU and other countries", as is the stuff sold in RHS shops with a lovely rural name and a mop cap on the jar.
 
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.
 
Thorn said:
I've always said buy from your local beekeeper. Stevec67, I sold the last jars of 2022 honey just last week but I'll let you know when the 2023 is available. I'm just a short way round the ring road.
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Lovely jubbly, I'll pop over o the bike.
 
Thorn said:
Check the label. Rowse does some English honey but I'm pretty sure that the stuff in the squeezy bottle is the "product of EU and other countries", as is the stuff sold in RHS shops with a lovely rural name and a mop cap on the jar.
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They do a range, UK, EU (or did) and some lowest common denominator non EU (mostly China) that comes in the squeezy bottles and is good for cooking, putting on fruit, etc.
 
I’m involved with Newbattle Beekeepers Association and we sell honey all year round although for local pickup only. If anyone in the Edinburgh area is interested drop me a DM. NBA is a charity focussed on promoting education of beekeeping, so if you are in the area and you’d like to become a beekeeper, we take on 12 students per year and give you a hive to look after with a mentor to support you. Www.NewbattleBees.org
 
I buy the very cheapest <£ honey for fruit teas; my wife likes it with yoghurt for some reason, but my go-to honey is from a local keeper whose wife was a tennis colleague. £5 for a 454g jar (the 'proper' size !); market here sells it at £6.50. Manuka honey from Aldi is different but sweeter, and I prefer the local set.
 
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.
Click to expand...
Most British beekeepers feed their bees sugar in one form or another to ensure they don't starve in the winter, but we ensure that it's not saved in the honey supers by not putting them on the hive till the feeding has finished. I don't see anything on Littleover's website to say that they don't feed their English colonies. I'd be surprised if they didn't.
My honey isn't heated or pasteurised. It's strained to get out lumps of wax and the odd bee's leg, allowed to settle for a few days and then jarred.
The taste of honey depends on what the bees forage on. There's clearly something that grows in the Zambian forests that imparts a flavour that you're partial to. Here in Leeds each of my five apiaries tastes and looks subtly different, more so in some years than others.
 
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