The vegan honey debate
AUSTRALIAN beekeepers are up in arms over a product sold as “vegan honey” that claims to be “bee free” yet is made from apple juice concentrate.
Australian Honey Bee Industry Council executive director Trevor Weatherhead said the industry was opposed to The Golden Ratio’s use of the word “honey” for a product that didn’t contain any honey, and was livid the vegan product was made from apple juice concentrate, a likely by-product of bee pollination.
“They (vegans) claim we rob bees, which we don’t,” he said.
“We wonder where they get their food from, because most of it would be pollinated by our managed honey bees.”
Vegan Australia director Greg McFarlane, when asked whether vegans could consume the product when an ingredient was apple juice concentrate, said the philosophy was applicable “wherever possible and practical”.
“You’ve eliminated the first level problem (by avoiding honey). The second level problem is the use of animals in the process, such as bees for pollination. We do as much as possible,” Mr McFarlane said.
He said veganism was opposed to animal suffering, leading it to oppose the consumption of honey because “100,000s of bees are killed during the extraction process”. Mr Weatherhead refuted the claims.
“There’s no advantage to us killing bees, we need them out there working for us,” he said.
The Golden Ratio owner Nicola Clark manufactures two “vegan honey” products.
These “honeys” are sold by 8500 different retailers across the nation.
The major ingredient in one of the products is apple juice concentrate, while the other does not contain any fruit-based ingredients.
Ms Clark, when questioned about the role of bees in pollinating apples used to make the concentrate was: “I don’t have a whole lot to say about that to be honest”.
The vegan honey has raised the ire of the NSW Food Authority, which is investigating “a number of potential breaches” of the Food Act and Food Standards Code. The code stipulates food sold as “honey” must contain honey.
A NSW Food Authority spokesman said: “A warning has been issued to the company about a number of potentially non-compliant issues including a false description of product, the name and description of the product not being sufficient to indicate the true nature of the food, and health claims are being assessed”.
The Golden Ratio has been directed to remedy the situation or face possible prosecution.
Ms Clark said she wasn’t aware of the Code and was surprised by the offence her products have caused.