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Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

theguardian.com

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Re: Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

#221

Post by portaouflop »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #216
Etheryte wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you find this hard to believe, I recommend reading this Forbes article [0] which gives some pretty stark numbers. I've included a few select quotes below: > According to the sampling and monitoring work carried out by the Brussels-based body, almost 50% of the honey from non-European countries is cut with sugar syrups made from rice, wheat or sugar beet. > All the 10 honeys entered via the United Kingdom were mark…

Why do consumers think honey is a special food deserving to spend so much money upon it? I never understand it. Also, I am no doubting this specific Forbes-hosted blog (as I call them), but reader beware. I don't think there is any editorial guidance from the main publishing house. You see all kinds of dubious crap posted on that platform! In the last year or so, HN front page now specifically distinguished blog post…

Honey is a special food and one of the key ingredients for modern civilisation

Re: Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

#222

Post by portaouflop »

colechristensen wrote: post #112
jart wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's not. Honey is defined by the USDA as being flower nectar that's been processed by bees[1]. Artificial honey can not be called honey[2]. If they're mixing it with high fructose corn syrup, then there should be a way to scientifically determine that. [1] https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Extracted... [2] https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Extracted...

A 90s percent of honey is fructose, glucose, and water. A very high 90s percent of corn syrup is fructose, glucose, and water. Getting the ratios the same is trivial. There is nothing magical about fructose or glucose from different sources, they’re exactly the same simple molecule. If you had very clean corn syrup, you could undetectably dilute honey and it would be quite the same. Lab tests being what they are thes…

That’s like saying humans are the same as chimps because they are both 60% water - the difference is not emotional

Re: Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

#223

Post by greatgib »

Etheryte wrote: post #10

Here's a very straightforward guide to buying honey. If you see honey at a supermarket, no you don't, that's sugar syrup. If you see honey online, no you don't, that's sugar syrup. If you find an old dude with a small stand and a bunch of (most likely unlabelled) jars who only accepts cash, that's where you get real honey.

I would easily say that the old dude with a small stand in the market is the most suspicious. Most of them are frauds tricking tourists and co by the "local artisanal" aspect. In the same way that it is now very hard to find a Christmas market selling authentic artisanal products.

And in 2024, if he does not accept cash, it might probably because he is happy to not declare all his incomes. That is a bad sign if you expect such a guy to be honest to not mess with his honey!

Re: Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

#224

Post by solumunus »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #214
nextaccountic wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Note this also happens with olive oil https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/11-o... https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/business/europe/top-italian-po...

Honestly, I don't care about "olive oil fraud" from/within the EU. As long as the final country that bottles it is responsible for food safety, then I am OK with it. Seriously, if you told me that tomatoes were mislabelled from Portugal instead of Spain, I would not care. What are the tangible drawbacks for consumers of mislabelled olive oil from EU?

You’re overpaying for poor quality products. Quite simple.

Re: Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

#225

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

Aurornis wrote: post #177
refurb wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very true. I lived in a developing country in Asia and the number of food safety concerns that popped up was far, far lower than what you see in the West. When another foreigner mentioned how "safe" the food was, I said "yeah, concerns don't pop up because nobody is looking for them".

It’s fascinating how the 24/7 news cycle and social media have convinced so many people that everything is awful. I still hear younger coworkers snidely remark that the US is an “third world country with cellphones” while they live a lifestyle with safety, comfort, and luxury that puts them in the top 1% of people in the world. It’s wild.

> I still hear younger coworkers snidely remark that the US is an “third world country with cellphones”

Given how things have been going in the US the past few years, I am frankly inclined to agree with them.

Healthcare aside, here is but one example: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/08/14/new-video-shows-...

Re: Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

#226

Post by Retric »

Aurornis wrote: post #176
Retric wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s high trust in very specific ways. Walk into a supermarket and a box of X name brand whatever and it’s 99.99% guaranteed to be manufactured by the company it says on the box and be safe to consume no need for holographic stickers or whatnot. However, pick up a high value product and it’s likely to be some effectively identical fake while still being sold by the company it says on the box. An expensive restaurant…

> However, pick up a high value product and it’s likely to be some effectively identical fake while still being sold by the company it says on the box. What is this supposed to mean? Every high value product I purchase is definitely unique to the company that makes it. My laptop, GPU, car, and phone are definitely not some rebranded items.

I just realized it wasn’t clear, but I meant high value for a grocery store.

Re: Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

#227

Post by [deleted] »

result2vino wrote: post #170
_3u10 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s because honey is sugar syrup with a liberal sprinkling of marketing. The sugar syrup they are blending it with doesn’t have the right marketing and is therefore not honey.

This particularly americanised brand of nihilism is so bloody tiring.

[deleted]

Re: Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

#228

Post by yumraj »

dghlsakjg wrote: post #167
yumraj wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We buy from Costco and most/all of it crystallizes after some time. Not sure if that makes it good honey, but there’s that.

Crystallization isn’t an indicator of fake or low quality honey. We have had wildflower honey crystallize in the honeycomb when we left it in the garage over winter. It can be decrystallized easily with gentle heat. I put our jars in a water bath in a pot and leave it over a low setting for about an hour until it is good. The water never gets over 125 or so, which should be fine.

I had meant the other way, that it crystallizes so if it means that it’s a good honey.

Re: Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

#229

Post by Aloisius »

skylurk wrote: post #213
Aloisius wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never heard of maple syrup fraud in the US nor can I find any articles on it. Unless one is talking about imitation maple syrups, but those are labeled properly.

It's also a thing, unfortunately. https://news.uoguelph.ca/2023/04/maple-syrup-fraud-undermine...

That "article" appears to be a promotion for a test to detect maple syrup fraud in Canada.

It doesn't say maple syrup fraud is common in the US. It does cite an article about someone who bought fake syrup from a random "trucker" on the internet, but that article explicitly says it's not a big issue.

Re: Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain

#230

Post by randomcarbloke »

Etheryte wrote: post #10

Here's a very straightforward guide to buying honey. If you see honey at a supermarket, no you don't, that's sugar syrup. If you see honey online, no you don't, that's sugar syrup. If you find an old dude with a small stand and a bunch of (most likely unlabelled) jars who only accepts cash, that's where you get real honey.

in america yes that is a good rule of thumb

>said the UK should require importers to label the country of origin on all honey, including blends

It actually does require that, it must specify country of origin and whether it is a blend, if it's a blend then it contains syrup and possibly antibiotics.

Buy single origin which in europe is certainly available, in the UK avoid anything that has the line "a blend of EU and non-EU honey", you should be buying UK honey anyway if you're UK-based, it is better and not blended (except where fraud has been committed as in the article).

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