Bitter allegations over honey taste

A KWAZULU-NATAL honey producer couple, accused of having excessive sugar in their honey on a recent episode of the Carte Blanche television programme, questioned the way its product was sampled.

In the recent Carte Blanche episode, Rob Beach of Hilton Honey Farms was presented with the result of a sample of his honey sent overseas for testing by the South African Bee Industry Organisation (SABIO), showing a 26.5% C4 sugar count. It should be 7%, or less.

It is the duty of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to test honey but they claim to not have the funds to do so, according to the programme. SABIO showed samples sent overseas for testing to Carte Blanche.

“The test results that were given to us by Carte Blanche included several discrepancies,” said Beach. “There was no name on the document relating the sample to me or my company and it stated the sample tested was not sealed. I was not aware of my product ever being tested and to look into this, I need to know where the alleged sample came from.”

Beach said neither SABIO (the South African Bee Industry Organisation) nor Carte Blanche have been able to supply Hilton Honey Farms with the batch number or sample of the honey allegedly tested.

Carte Blanche said it had informed Beach it would not release the information he was seeking, adding that journalists protected their sources.

“We stand by our story and can tell you that we have seen more than one set of test results taken far more recently that also indicates that your honey is adulterated,” said producer Joy Summers.

In the programme, Beach admitted not labelling which countries he had imported honey from, which he rebottled, as is required by the law. “We have since updated all our labelling accordingly,” says Beach.

His wife, Liz, said that after the allegations Hilton Honey Farms decided, as a precautionary measure to conduct a voluntary recall of their honey for testing to ensure that it was compliant.

“We received the test results back on the 7th August and can confirm that the independent results verify that our honey adheres to the regulations that govern honey in South Africa,” explained Liz.

Hilton Honey Farms will continue to conduct independent testing and are also in the process of becoming HACCAP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) compliant and accredited.

Carte Blanche confronted another Midlands honey producer, Grandis Apiaries, with a test result showing a 67.1% C4 sugar content in his honey.

He admitted to feeding his bees with sugar water, with lemon added, but denied mixing it into any honey.