Businessman is stung over bee jelly health claim
ONLINE TRADER BEFORE COURTS AFTER STATING PRODUCT COULD HELP FERTILITY AND DEMENTIA
AN ONLINE businessman who claimed bee secretions boost fertility has been hit with a landmark criminal prosecution.
Paul Southern, 40, ran a business from his Flixton home selling Royal Jelly – a product derived from honeybees.
He fell foul of Trafford trading standards by making claims on the internet which could have led vulnerable customers to believe his wares could shrink tumours, help dementia patients, and offer ‘extraordinary fertility benefits.’
Southern, of Woodsend Road South, Flixton, admitted nine counts of use of an unauthorised health claim at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court and faces sentence next month.
He is believed to be the first person in the UK to be prosecuted for the offences, which derive from EU regulations dating back five years.
Royal Jelly, which is secreted from the glands of worker bees and fed to their larvae, is essential for raising queen bees. It is harvested commercially and sold as a dietary supplement – but EU food safety authorities have said its purported benefits are not proven.
Southern’s alternative medicine enterprise, Well Bee-ing UK Limited, sold Royal Jelly for £28 per 50g at the time, suggesting a dose which meant customers would get through a tub a week.
The offences he admitted spanned from April 2014 until July 2015, but it is understood he had been selling the product since 2011 and had been warned repeatedly about making unauthorised claims.
His crown court plea hearing was told his company’s website, royaljellyinhoney.co.uk, claimed the product was ‘only one of the natural resources of acetylcholine – a powerful neurotransmitter – low levels of acetylcholine have been scientifically associated with Alzheimer’s.’ He also claimed Royal Jelly had ‘extraordinary fertility properties’ which were ‘solely responsible for making the queen bee’s ovaries and enabling her to produce over 2,000 eggs per day,’ adding, ‘our Royal Jelly is recommended by many fertility clinics.’ Buyers could also have been persuaded that Royal Jelly would ‘speed the healing of tumours,’ soothe sore throats ‘within minutes’ and ‘destroy bacteria or viral infection.’ by Southern’s sales patter. Southern also admitted claiming Royal Jelly is ‘well-known to be beneficial for immune support, hormonal imbalance, general well-being, overall good health and much more.’ It is understood the business first came to the attention of Trafford council in September 2011 following a complaint. Southern will be sentenced at Minshull Street on Thursday, October 5.
Southern had been warned repeatedly about making unauthorised claims