COMPARATIVE TEST

Honey

How Good Are These 10 Brands?

Come to think of it, the colour itself enchants – as if it is conveying the magic of flower nectar transformed into a sweet, golden potion. But there is more to honey than its tempting colour and flavour. In its pure form, honey is a powerhouse of health benefits – from fighting ulcers and cancers to treating coughs and cuts.And in its not-so-pure form? That is what this report aims to cover – whether the various brands of honey meet the basic requirements. This becomes all the more crucial in view of the claim made by several studies that much of the honey sold in retail stores is not exactly what the bees had produced.

Honey has been for a long time a target for adulteration. Dishonest traders started making money by adding cheap components to honey and sold them at high prices in the market. Different types of honey vary in terms of composition, shelf life, cost and packing.The aim of the present work is to test the quality of 10 brands of Indian honey. The test programme was developed as per parameters listed in the national standards like FSS Rules, Indian Standard and Agmark. It may be noted that as per Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), honey has been categorized into three grades: Special, Grade A and Standard. The tests were conducted in an NABL-accredited laboratory.