Whenever we travel to Australia, some of the souvenirs we would buy are stuff like kangaroo keychains, nougat, chocolate and not to mention honey as well. That’s because a lot of us think that Australia is famous for these items.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
However, Australia has been rocked recently by a scandal in its honey industry, as the largest producer in the market and several other supermarkets have been accused of selling fake honey. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Capilano, who is famed for their claims of pure honey, may actually be selling “adulterated” honey that is mixed with other substances.
The tests were done by a reputed leading international scientific lab that specialises in honey fraud detection and they tested 28 samples that consist of blended and imported honey. Out of these samples, 12 of them were found to be not 100% pure honey and the test results were submitted to Interpol.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
These batches of honey were taken from major supermarket stores around Australia, including Coles, Woolworths, ALDI and IGA. The researchers used a type of test known as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to scan for impurities, which were found in eight Allowrie (a Capilano brand) samples, IGA’s Black and Gold private label and ALDI’s Bramwell’s private label brand.
Phil McCabe, the president of the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Association (Apimondia) explained, “Adulterated honey isn’t honey at all. By and large [the impurity] is some kind of syrup that’s been converted to look like honey, it tastes like honey. Everything about it seems to be honey when in fact it’s just sugar syrup or something else… Consumers don’t realise what they are buying and eating isn’t honey.”
Source: News AU
Apparently, the test, which is one of the most accurate tests available, said that the samples contain sugar, rice and beet syrups. However, one thing they noted was that the samples made up of blended honey included imported honey allegedly from China.
Fans of Capilano’s own brand honey can be rest assured though, as those samples passed the test. However, in defence of Allowrie, Capilano strongly denied that any of its products are not pure honey and rejected the NMR test as they said that Australian and international regulators “do not use this testing regime at all”.
Source: News AU
For now, ALDI has removed the alleged adulterated honey from its shelves while other supermarkets said that they are investigating these claims to ensure that they are providing the best product for their customers.
Meanwhile, this issue has left the honey industry worried as honey is the third-most adulterated product in the world. Other parts of the world such as the European Union said that they have been fending off fake honey from China at its borders. They said that these fraudsters, who are often criminal gangs in China, are constantly finding new ways to produce fake honey that can pass tests and sell them to unsuspecting suppliers.
Source: ABC
Don’t worry if you have these particular brands of honey at home though as it is still safe to eat, even if it isn’t 100% pure honey because it won’t pose any health risks. If you want to ensure that it is unadulterated, then look for Australian sourced honey instead of blended ones.
Remember to check your honey before buying, peeps!
Also read: Mechanics Around the Klang Valley Are Selling Fake Engine Oil That Can Damage Cars
