"Honey is the third most-faked food in the world. Tests have revealed 50% to 70% of all U.S. honey is fake or adulterated
True Source Honey, a honey certification group, was created by the businesses it certifies. According to a class action complaint, True Source Honey is being used by these businesses “to fraudulently control the market, sell fake honey at substantially lower prices than honest beekeepers, and divert sales, revenue, and profits to themselves”
Honey can be faked and adulterated in many different ways. Common strategies include diluting the honey with sugars or syrups, or feeding corn syrup to the bees rather than allowing them to forage for pollen
Inexpensive, low-grade honey can also be filtered and then dusted with high-grade pollen from another location to obscure its origin. Oftentimes, honey labeled as “local” is, in fact, cheap honey sourced overseas
To ensure authenticity, buy honey from a local beekeeper. You’ll typically find them at farmers markets. Also, use your senses. Many adulterated honeys will lack the floral notes found in pure honey. Adulterated honey may also have a lingering aftertaste, or will simply taste too sugary, and is far stickier and transparent than real honey" JM
SOURCES:
Amazon Real Food/Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating and What You Can Do About It by Larry Olmsted 2016
Forbes July 15, 2016
Insider September 26, 2020
Vice March 6, 2020
Journal of Food Science November 9, 2011; 76(9): R157-R163
Better Homes & Gardens October 2, 2023
True Source Honey
Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy, Legal Recourse for Self-Regulation in the Honey Industry June 9, 2021
Sweetwater Science Labs
Bees and Trees August 18, 2023
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