Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey

144K views 557 replies 46 participants last post by  John Smith 
#1 ·
I've found this article just recently, and many facts surprised me.

For example:
"•76 percent of samples bought at groceries had all the pollen removed, These were stores like TOP Food, Safeway, Giant Eagle, QFC, Kroger, Metro Market, Harris Teeter, A&P, Stop & Shop and King Soopers.

•100 percent of the honey sampled from drugstores like Walgreens, Rite-Aid and CVS Pharmacy had no pollen.

•77 percent of the honey sampled from big box stores like Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Target and H-E-B had the pollen filtered out.

•100 percent of the honey packaged in the small individual service portions from Smucker, McDonald’s and KFC had the pollen removed. "

From: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.UQ1sbh3m1n5


Boris Romanov
 
#7 ·
The point of True Source (I think) is that we know packers are going to remove the pollen because pollen causes granulation and stores hate granulation. The longer the honey sits on a shelf in a store, the less pollen can be in it if it's ever going to sell before it granulates. Think about how much honey actually gets sold from a pharmacy, not much. That honey must sit there a long time. I have a hard time blaming any packer for removing the pollen. So True Source tests the honey, actually they have an outside independent company test the honey, prior to being put in the barrel at the source location to ensure that the honey really is honey from that location. They also have people from that outside company visit the beekeepers to ensure that the beekeepers actually have the size of operation necessary to provide the honey they claim to provide....no more 2 hive beekeeper magically producing 10 ton. So when a consumer buys True Source, they may not know from where on the globe it came, but they know it's honey.
 
#8 ·
So when a consumer buys True Source, they may not know from where on the globe it came, but they know it's honey.
Actually, True Source standards include an accurate country of origin.
True Source Honey firmly believes that consumers want products that clearly identify the origin of the products they consume. True Source Certified was created to deliver just that – proven country of origin, fully party audited, pure honey. True Source Honey takes the position that every container of honey sold in the United States should clearly indicate where that product originated and certify that claim using an independent audit firm. This program has been established under the name True Source Certified.

Complete standards document here:
http://www.truesourcehoney.com/true-source-certified/certified-2012-08-01.pdf
 
#11 ·
Of course, I'll take my frames from my hives as well, but we're talking about regular non-beekeeping consumers who shop in supermarkets and believe that delicious porkchop wasn't once a cute pig with a face but is somehow "made" in the back. They're getting smarter, but the more help they can get, the better.
 
#12 ·
When people have tasted our honey they say I love your honey and say things like OH MY GOD that is good.
I would have to agree with them. I'm sure the pollen influences the flavor so taking it out is probably reducing subtle flavors and smells.
Awareness is growing about bees and honey. People have asked me a bunch of questions about honey being raw and helping with allergies and all kinds of things. On a small scale I am optimistic that there are people in my area that are wanting to buy fresh raw honey.
Quality is worth seeking out. At Farmaid this year at Hershey Park they talked about buying locally and things that are fresh and the importance of the family farm etc. Local honey could surely fall into that spectrum.
 
#13 ·
I do everything I can to educate the consumer what they are getting when they buy honey from me, and I also let them know how the majority of supermarket honey's are processed. I coarse strain my honey with minimal heating to make straining quicker and that's about it. I tell consumers that most supermarket honey is fine filtered to remove the pollen and that it is heated to a high temperature to retard granulation, which destroys nutrients. I let them make the decision which honey to buy after that. John
 
#17 ·
This is right on the mark. Honey packers deliver what the largely ignorant (and I dont use that word as an insult) buying public demands. They want a convenient to use easily dispensed LIQUID product. If their product granulated on the shelf, it is just not very marketable to the majority of shoppers. The stores will usually pull it off the shelf and charge back the product to the supplier. If that product granulates at home in their pantry it may well get thrown out and a repeat customer is lost. This is the reality folks, honey packers filter their honey because of economic necessity not because it is cheap and easy to do or because they are hiding something. Is something lost when honey is heated and filtered? You betcha there is.....but it's still honey. Just analyze what is sold in grocery stores nowadays and you will see its all about convenience. The modern consumer wants to pop their meal in the microwave and eat it on the run, and we expect them to patiently heat their jar of sugared honey in warm water or dig it out of a container? It's not going to happen. So let's not lump all honey packers together as purveyors of illegally sourced adulterated honey. The folks here on Beesource understand that granulation is a sign of honey purity the public at large is clueless.
 
#20 ·
Ramona: What you are doing is great but it dosent really address the scope of what we as an industry are dealing with. Educating your customers and educating a nation of potential honey consumers are two entirely different undertakings. Large retailers care about giving their consumer what they want today, they don't have the means nor the will to educate them.
 
#21 ·
....yet the NHB spent 2.5 MILLION DOLLARS co-promoting The Bee Movie as an educational film (where the girls tittered about, bees drove cars in the hive, and male bees harvest pollen with guns).

The industry has means....where is the will?

deknow
 
#23 ·
The will to do what Dean? Educate over 300 million people about honey granulation with a budget that would be petty cash to McDonalds or InBev? Those packers that care about purity started TrueSource. It was started by packers committed to integrity who were tired of being underbid by the purveyors of rice syrup honey blends yet I even hear them getting bashed for selling honey that's not "real" simply because they are giving the consumer what they demand. I wish it was a simple task to educate a whole nation but it just isn't.
 
#24 ·
Well, if beekeepers and the whole beekeeping industry isn't willing to do it, it will never happen.

OTOH, beekeepers are willing to "educate" the nation that "local honey is good for your allergies" (apparently spring honey from area X helps with fall allergies in area X even though there is no common pollen content between the seasons....but honey from area Y is ineffective). If that kind of energy were spent (and note, this is not something that a lot of money gets spent promoting) regarding honey crystallization, a noticeable effect would be achieved.

deknow
 
#25 ·
I will do my part, you no doubt will do yours but the ignorance out there about honey is overwhelming. I can't even count how many times through the years I have had people tell me about the jar of honey they bought that spoiled even though it was kept in the refrigerator. :) But this is a nation where disclaimers are put on Viagra ads warning that their product doesn't protect against std's. good luck with a nationwide honey granulation lecture.
 
#26 ·
Goal or bottom line:...Selling imported honey in the United States of America and making profit.

Changing the definition of honey, redefining processing techniques, PR for the consumer to accept honey that looks and tastes like corn syrup, is all for that goal.

For the pitiful domestic beekeeper producer who does not add diatomaceous earth to their honey in preparation for removal of nasties like pollen, you are just bottling some quaint, uncouth product. Perhaps you will have to warn consumers that it contains allergic material.

If the Honey Board were really interested in representing the domestic producer, they would educate the consumer about "real" honey, not how they should accept processed, imported honey.
 
#27 ·
With regard to consumer education about honey, the California Milk Board alone spends $25-30 million dollars a year on milk advertising. Wisconsin spends a similar amount. Add in other diary states, and the Feds, and you have spending well over $100 million dollars a year on milk "education".

It will take many buckets (perhaps even totes):lookout: of money to re-educate the average consumer to prefer granulated honey.

(I'd post sources for my numbers, but consolidated figures are hard to come by. But Google "milk advertising budget" if you want.) :cool:
 
#28 ·
I am a bit "out of the mold" on the whole issue of imports. The US consumes around 400 million pounds each year, possibly even more. We produce around 150 million lbs. There are good people all over the world raising honey most of them small family owned businesses that includes many members here on Beesource. There are also greedy, dishonest folks trying to make some easy money importing a lot of stuff that isn't honey by any definition but is sold as such. I am in favor of importing legitimate honey as long as it passes testing protocols as being safe. Imports are not the problem it's the whole issue of honey authenticity.
 
#29 ·
Using an advertising model to perform education is not efficient. How much is spent in large advertising campaigns wrt local honey and allergies? How much was spent by the industry to bring the level of "CCD awareness" that we have today?

Generally, if something like the California milk board spends $25 million in advertising, it is mostly because they have a budget of 25million, not a demonstrated need for $25 million in advertising.

deknow
 
#30 ·
Jim...are you saying that your crystallized honey is moldy? :)

Seriously though, I agree with Jim...focusing on quality (and purity) rather than country of origin is much more important.

deknow
 
#32 ·
....these standares are always problematic. For instance, from the one posted above:


The sucroe content of honey must not be more than 5 grams per 100 grams of the product unless the honey is labeled as a particular floral source. In that case the sucrose content may be higher, if it is properly labeled as to floral source.


The above is both too specific and not specific enough. It is absurd that the same honey would qualify as legit with a high sucrose content as a specific floral source, and not legit if it were labeled as wildflower honey.



deknow
 
#33 ·
My opinion, if you start with honey going in, filtering etc....., you get honey out as long as you're not adding anything. Removing pollen meets a demand and produces a product for a specific market, just label it as such. Personally I hate granulated honey, it's hard to work with, especially if it's a large crystal granulation. A fine granulation is ok though, but again, when I'm in the kitchen the last thing I want to do is fight a bottle of honey for it's contents. Perhaps it's more of a packaging thing, really hard to get into those little mouth containers to scoop out granulated honey, which is why I stick to jars for mine.

I believe it's 3 floral sources that will not granulate. Tupelo (I think white tupelo specifically) being one of them, another is a tropical flower I believe, can't recall the 3rd. In the end, the glucose to fructose ratio is what drives the process, but other factors can speed it along, solids etc... that act as crystallization points (i.e pollen, wax, bee parts). The information is out there but it seems no one really wants to pursue it. Even with threads on this forum, a lot of people here do not know what drives crystallization, and a lot of people just think it's a byproduct of 'raw' honey.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top