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Fancy honey might not actually be honey

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Re: Fancy honey might not actually be honey

#101
To me, the most interesting thing in this article was the purification method using aliphatic resin. This seems almost magical in its ability to pull out pesticides and other impurities.

I'm interested to see where that goes, as I can see that actually being a selling point rather than something to hide.

I'm adding that to my food safety/purification/sterilisation methods list.

Re: Fancy honey might not actually be honey

#102
post #2

And your olive oil might not be olive oil. Our daughter is allergic to sunflower oil which is commonly used to adulterate the olive oil. Chips supposedly made with olive oil will sometimes give her a rash. For bottled olive oil we try to buy local California olive oil...,

I read somewhere that the distinction of Kalamata olive oil is reserved only for oil that comes from Kalamata, Greece. It's high end, but honestly the flavour is absolutely worth it. Furthermore, higher end products are usually less likely to be tampered with in a race to the bottom.

Is there a risk of counterfeits though as you get into the higher end?

Re: Fancy honey might not actually be honey

#103

Every time i'm reading something like this, i'm wondering where my f-ing Tricorder from Star Trek is. What would it take to get the equivalent of mass spectrometry into a miniaturized clip on module for a smartphone which you could point at anything for a few seconds, and get the results on your app just from the backscatter? I don't care about the means, just the results. Oh, and not as something exotic but massprod…

They do exist, they are just expensive. probably the price would come down if there were more demand. It's Probably on its way to a smartphone in 20 years or so if demand justifies it. https://www.spectro.com/products/xrf-spectrometer/xsort-xrf-...

Oh! Wow. Interesting. But unsuitable for "casual" use. I'd imagine some questions from the manager if i'd were to hold that over some fruits in the supermarket :-)

I got these when i did that with a borrowed gammascout maybe 10 to 15 years ago, even with the beeping disabled.

Panic, Panic! Don't do that here! What do you think the customers think? Don't come back here! Go, go, out, away!

Well, what do I as customer think if that's forbidden?

Re: Fancy honey might not actually be honey

#104
post #36
post #2

And your olive oil might not be olive oil. Our daughter is allergic to sunflower oil which is commonly used to adulterate the olive oil. Chips supposedly made with olive oil will sometimes give her a rash. For bottled olive oil we try to buy local California olive oil...,

The romans had an intricate system that prevented oil fraud, they could track and amphora back to the farm it originated in, and every step along the way. We should be able to do the same with modern technology and severely penalize individuals who commit fraud.

We have even better systems in place than the Romans did. They're just not used unless there's a health emergency (e.g. E. coli in the food).

Re: Fancy honey might not actually be honey

#105
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I read before Costco does independent testing and their olive oil is unadulterated. Might be something to look into if you have Costco nearby.

"Costco does independent testing and their olive oil is unadulterated" One of the interesting things I learned from the honey article was that fraudsters have figured out how to work their way around tests, at least for honey. I wouldn't be surprised if they could do the same for olive oil and other food products. It seems like a cat and mouse game. Something not mentioned in the article is that testing labs themselv…

PBS just aired an American Experience episode based on the book: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/poison-squa...

Re: Fancy honey might not actually be honey

#106
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes it no longer raw honey (depending on your definitions).

Sure, but it's still _honey_.

Yes, but that's not all people care about which is what the article specifically states. It's still honey but not "raw" honey.

Re: Fancy honey might not actually be honey

#107
post #69
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One example: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/food-safety/tesco-honey-test-not...

I suppose the key there was that it was withdrawn after this was found out (and own brand supermarket stuff is often the cheapest variant if a product with all the corner cutting that implies)

Yeah, I'd say this supports my hypothesis, in that the article is about whether or not good honey was rejected by the processes in place, not whether bad honey was making it onto shelves despite failing tests.

Re: Fancy honey might not actually be honey

#108
post #17

I only buy honey that has crystallized a bit. AFAIK only natural honey does this. It's insane that people don't like this, so sellers are heating the honey to stop the crystallization.

I have a jar of honey that stays a soft solid around room temp, sort of like coconut oil does. I assume that's crystallized honey? Or maybe it was just adulterated with coconut oil.

It comes in a wide-mouth jar so it's at least easy to scoop out.

Re: Fancy honey might not actually be honey

#109
post #108
post #17

I only buy honey that has crystallized a bit. AFAIK only natural honey does this. It's insane that people don't like this, so sellers are heating the honey to stop the crystallization.

I have a jar of honey that stays a soft solid around room temp, sort of like coconut oil does. I assume that's crystallized honey? Or maybe it was just adulterated with coconut oil. It comes in a wide-mouth jar so it's at least easy to scoop out.

honey can have natural source maltose and that will make a honey crystallize like you describe. these are often sold as creamed or whipped honey, and are often stirred to promote crystallization.

A honey lacking maltose will crystallize into large hard crystals that have to be melted .

Re: Fancy honey might not actually be honey

#110
post #109
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a jar of honey that stays a soft solid around room temp, sort of like coconut oil does. I assume that's crystallized honey? Or maybe it was just adulterated with coconut oil. It comes in a wide-mouth jar so it's at least easy to scoop out.

honey can have natural source maltose and that will make a honey crystallize like you describe. these are often sold as creamed or whipped honey, and are often stirred to promote crystallization. A honey lacking maltose will crystallize into large hard crystals that have to be melted .

Ah, thank you. That will help me research it more.
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