HOW GENUINE IS HONEY?

Honey is a perennially popular food. In 2019 each American consumed about 1.7 pounds of it. But where does honey come from when you buy it in a supermarket in the U.S.? That should be simple for a laboratory to pinpoint because natural honey contains pollen from the plants that contributed to it, and plants have a unique signature that allows the source of pollen in the honey to be determined. But honey is often diluted with cheap syrup after all the pollen grains are removed to conceal the honey’s origin.

“Global production is decreasing even as demand is increasing,” says president of the International Honey Exporters Organization Norberto Garcia. “The only way to explain that gap is through honey adulteration.” China produces the most honey, almost 25% of the world’s supply and far more than the country itself needs. So Chinese honey producers have entered the North American market at prices that domestic producers can’t meet. At such a low price point, Garcia says, “Consumers are eating a product that is not honey.”

After the U.S. imposed a steep tariff to protect domestic honey producers, China began shipping through other countries where the honey was being re-labeled and re-exported with doctored lab reports. Suddenly India and Malaysia, for example, became major honey-exporting countries, shipping much more than their domestic industries could conceivably produce. Regulators are working hard to detect the deception, but as Garcia points out, “Every time a new test is developed, adulterators find a new method.”