by Dewey M. Caron, Communications and Content Specialist for the Oregon Master Beekeeper Program
Apimondia halts honey awards over ‘huge fraud’ in global supply chain
Apimondia, the biennial international beekeeping congress says it not judge nor award a prize for honey next year, the first time it has not done so. Instead Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations, says it will only showcase honey from around the world at its congress in Denmark September 23-27.
The decision came as beekeepers and importers face a mounting crisis over the scale of fraudulent honey worldwide. Honey, one of five of the most adulterated foods in world trade, is often bulked out with cheaper sugar syrup. Beekeepers and honey importers say there has been a failure by food watchdogs and the industry to combat the fraud; the most common test to detect fraud can easily be circumvented.
Past Apimondia honey shows have been popular, with entries from around the world. About 45% of honeys were rejected at the Montreal honey show in 2019, the first year of use of more rigorous testing. Honeys which were excluded were replaced with a card stating: “This exhibit has failed laboratory analysis and cannot be judged further.” At the Istanbul congress in 2022, 39 out of 145 honeys were withdrawn for suspected adulteration. Beeswax, mead, beekeeping innovations and publications will still be judged and winning entries recognized.
An EU investigation found 46% of imported sampled products were suspected to be fraudulent.. Samples tested in October by the UK branch of the Honey Authenticity Network that utilized a novel form of DNA testing, found that 24 out of 25 jars from big UK retailers were suspicious. Regulators in the UK have not published detailed results of official tests but rejected claims of significant fraud.
A spokesperson for UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “We take any type of food fraud very seriously. There is no place for adulterated honey which undermines consumer confidence and disadvantages responsible businesses acting within the law.
Jeff Pettis, Apimondia President said “there was widespread adulteration in cheaper commercial honeys. The fraud can occur at any point of the supply chain, with many importers and retailers unwittingly trading in fake honey….. We want the public to know that local honey is much less likely to be adulterated.”
NOTE: I discuss testing of honey for fraud in the American Beekeeping Federation Quarterly (fall 2024). In testing of honey imported into the US, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses only a single inaccurate testing method and thus reports very low adulterated honey importation into our country. I will be happy to supply a copy of this publication.