Almost one in five honeys are FAKE including boutique grown jars
03/05/20 08:37
Honey has been deemed the world's third most adulterated food after research revealed that nearly one in five varieties across Australia are impure.
The study, conducted by scientists at Macquarie University, examined 100 honey samples globally, including 38 Australian honey brands from Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania.
Of the 38 – which included expensive, boutique honeys – 18.4 per cent were found to be adulterated, meaning they have been mixed with non-honey substances.
Although most appear to be unadulterated, experts said there is one way to make sure you are buying pure honey - not something that's been diluted with corn starch, rice syrup or other substances.
'Check the ingredients on the label,' experts from Condrell Food Products said.
'Pure honey has only one ingredient – honey.'
Seven samples were taken from Victoria, six from Queensland, two from New South Wales, and nine from Tasmania.
Of the Victorian samples, 29 per cent tested as impure, with a third of brands from Queensland, half from New South Wales and 27 per cent from Tasmania also showing adulteration.
All of the samples sourced from South Australia and Western Australia were found to be pure.
Professor Mark Taylor and PhD student Xiaoteng Zhou carried out the testing at the National Measurement Institute, the testing facility also used by Border Force for drugs testing.
Out of the international honeys tested, 27 per cent showed impurities.
More than half of the samples from Asia, predominantly those from China, were positive for adulteration.
Global demand for honey is on the rise as consumers are looking for natural alternatives to cane sugar and artificial sweeteners.
'High demand for honey is likely to continue incentivising companies to produce adulterated or counterfeit honey to increase output volumes,' Nathan Cloutman, IBISWorld Senior Industry Analyst, told Daily Mail Australia.
He said that testing in Australia is largely outdated, and more investigations are needed in order to prevent honey fraud.
'Australia prides itself on its high-quality produce - more rigorous, more updated testing is needed,' he said.
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Validactor is a fast growing company, fully devoted to combat the counterfeit businesses, the fakes markets and any kind of adulteration potentially causing a threat to customers. We fight this battle empowering both manufacturers and final customers with a full set of easy-to-use and easy-to-implement tools. Any kind of smartphone is the most powerful weapon to win this battle.
Along with anti-counterfeit features, Validactor offer a full set of services aimed at strengthen customer-manufacturer relations
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The study, conducted by scientists at Macquarie University, examined 100 honey samples globally, including 38 Australian honey brands from Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania.
Of the 38 – which included expensive, boutique honeys – 18.4 per cent were found to be adulterated, meaning they have been mixed with non-honey substances.
Although most appear to be unadulterated, experts said there is one way to make sure you are buying pure honey - not something that's been diluted with corn starch, rice syrup or other substances.
'Check the ingredients on the label,' experts from Condrell Food Products said.
'Pure honey has only one ingredient – honey.'
Seven samples were taken from Victoria, six from Queensland, two from New South Wales, and nine from Tasmania.
Of the Victorian samples, 29 per cent tested as impure, with a third of brands from Queensland, half from New South Wales and 27 per cent from Tasmania also showing adulteration.
All of the samples sourced from South Australia and Western Australia were found to be pure.
Professor Mark Taylor and PhD student Xiaoteng Zhou carried out the testing at the National Measurement Institute, the testing facility also used by Border Force for drugs testing.
Out of the international honeys tested, 27 per cent showed impurities.
More than half of the samples from Asia, predominantly those from China, were positive for adulteration.
Global demand for honey is on the rise as consumers are looking for natural alternatives to cane sugar and artificial sweeteners.
'High demand for honey is likely to continue incentivising companies to produce adulterated or counterfeit honey to increase output volumes,' Nathan Cloutman, IBISWorld Senior Industry Analyst, told Daily Mail Australia.
He said that testing in Australia is largely outdated, and more investigations are needed in order to prevent honey fraud.
'Australia prides itself on its high-quality produce - more rigorous, more updated testing is needed,' he said.
###
Validactor is a fast growing company, fully devoted to combat the counterfeit businesses, the fakes markets and any kind of adulteration potentially causing a threat to customers. We fight this battle empowering both manufacturers and final customers with a full set of easy-to-use and easy-to-implement tools. Any kind of smartphone is the most powerful weapon to win this battle.
Along with anti-counterfeit features, Validactor offer a full set of services aimed at strengthen customer-manufacturer relations
Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook