- The shocking truth about supermarket honey – it’s not what it says it is on the jar
- Finally, this food scam is being exposed, but will anything be done about it.
- How to eat genuine, raw, healthy honey that actually does you good
There is a major Manuka Honey Scam going on.
I’ve been banging on about this for years…
To the point where I feel like a stuck record.
But finally, thanks to an article I’ve just read, it looks like something might be done about this.
And it’s about time too!
(Although as usual with the food industry, I won’t hold my breath.)
The article was in The Observer on 28th November, with the very ‘punny’ headline, “Bee aware: do you know what is in that cheap jar of honey?”
In short, the problem is this…
Much of the low-priced honey that fills the shelves of supermarkets and corner shops is absolute garbage.
(The Observer expresses it much more politely but I can’t be bothered to mince my words.)
I mean, it’s not to say that this cheap honey will kill you stone dead or anything.
If you are simply looking for sugar syrup to add to your food and drink to make it sweeter, then by all means grab a bottle of 69p squeezy honey.
It’s sweet, that’s for sure. Just don’t assume that it’s honey. Or that it will do any of the nice things inside your body that honey is famous for.
Really, this is another global food scam on a par with the glut of fake olive oils on the market right now. As I revealed back in December 2020, it’s reckoned that 80% of the “Italian virgin olive oil” in the shops is neither Italian nor virgin.
Similarly, most cheap honey is not really honey.
Although it is cheap, that’s for sure.
Where the dodgy honey is coming from
The label on these sub-par honey bottles might say that it’s “pure”, “natural” and “from beehives” but you can take that gubbbins with a big pinch of salt.
You see, the reason the honey is so cheap (less than a quid) is that it’s imported from China where it is bulked out with sugar syrup.
The labelling has no requirement to trace the origins of the honey when it’s blended from more than one country.
Seeing as the UK is the world’s biggest importer of Chinese honey, there is a lot of this stuff around.
But you and I both know that to eat a honey sourced from a verified beekeeper, it’s going to cost more than 69p.
This is why British beekeepers are calling for a requirement to label cheap honey imports from China before they hit the shelves.
Maybe something will come of this…
The European Union is considering rules to improve consumer information for honey and ensure the country of origin is clearly identified, so perhaps we will follow suit.
Perhaps.
And it’s not just the obviously cheap honey that I have a problem with.
Even some of the pricier stuff can let consumers down.
Honey is one of the most commonly mislabelled foods, representing 7% of food fraud cases brought in the US last year.
Some supposedly credible brands wrongly name their products, so what you’re getting is nothing but glorified syrup, water and a cocktail of chemicals.
Other producers claim that theirs is a healthy honey full of nutrients, when it’s likely that it has been over-filtered, over-treated and overheated.
This is because supermarkets demand it.
Heaven forbid that a shopper will find a bee-leg in their jar!
And while many makers of ‘superfood’ products like manuka honey say that theirs is sourced from New Zealand (where manuka honey MUST come from), it’s often distributed from there and shipped in from somewhere else.
This whole sorry affair really boils my blood!
Which is why we‘ve done something about it at The Good Life Letter.
How to eat genuine raw, healthy honey
If you want to avoid being misled and get some actual health benefits from honey, then go for a Manuka honey like the one we stock in our shop here.
Wedderspoon’s honey is the real deal!
It has been sourced from New Zealand’s North and South Islands, then produced using a raw creaming process to maintain its naturally occurring properties.
Their honey is tested in a third-party accredited laboratory to standards set by the New Zealand regulatory authority MPI (Ministry of Primary Industries).
Which is how they’ve earned the New Zealand FernMark seal to say that theirs is a genuine manuka.
As a result, you’re more likely to get one or more of these benefits reported by manuka honey users when it’s either eaten or slathered on the skin, including:
- Soothes eczema and psoriasis
- Clears adult acne
- Dulls the pain of mouth ulcers
- Eases joint pain
- Calms IBS
- Speeds your recovery from cuts and wounds
- Slows the appearance of wrinkles
What’s more, Good Life Letter readers who bought Wedderspoons Raw Honey from our webshop really love it:
“This is just gorgeous honey… you can almost feel it doing you good.” – Gillian Carter
“I would never be without this honey. It cures sore throats and eases coughs and colds.” – Margaret
“I bought this many times, so that says it all.” – Anonymous
“Excellent ~ the best Manuka there is, so tasty ~ and it’s good for you, win, win!” – Michael Pope
“Excellent raw Manuka honey. Very well priced.” -Richard
“It’s excellent and tastes great.” – Anonymous
For more details, take a look at our page here: Genuine New Zealand Manuka
And remember that when you buy cheap honey, you’re not going to get the flavour or potential health benefits of the good stuff.