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New Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn't Honey

By Andrew Schneider

More than three-fourths of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn't exactly what the bees produce, according to testing. The results show that pollen has been filtered out of products labeled "honey." The removal of these microscopic particles makes the nectar flunk the standards set by the World Health Organization, the European Commission have ruled that without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources. In the U.S., the FDA says that any product that no longer contains pollen isn't honey. However, the FDA isn't checking honey sold here to see if it contains pollen.

Ultra filtering is a high-tech procedure where honey is heated, sometimes watered down and then forced at high pressure through extremely small filters to remove pollen, which is the only foolproof sign identifying the source of the honey. It a technique refined by the Chinese, who have illegally dumped tons of honey - some containing illegal antibiotics - on the U.S. market for years. U.S. groceries are flooded with Indian honey banned in Europe as unsafe because of contamination with antibiotics, heavy metal and no pollen which prevents tracking its origin.

Food Safety News purchased more than 60 samples of honey in 10 states and the District of Columbia. 76 percent of samples bought in groceries had all the pollen removed, These were stores like Safeway, Giant Eagle, Kroger, A&P and Stop & Shop. 100 percent of the honey sampled from drugstores like Walgreens, Rite-Aid and CVS had no pollen. 77 percent of the honey sampled from big box stores like Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart and Target had no pollen. 100 percent of the honey packaged in the small individual service portions from Smucker, McDonald's and KFC had the pollen removed. But every one of the samples Food Safety News bought at farmers markets, co-ops and natural stores like PCC and Trader Joe's had the full amount of pollen.

The above is a sample of a very long article with even longer comments. It prints out to dozens of pages as it persues the following questions:

Why Remove The Pollen?

What's Wrong With Chinese Honey?

The FDA’s Lack Of Action - Why The FDA Ignores Pleas?

Pollen? Who Cares?

Here Are Just A Few Of Many Dozens of Comments

This is food system investigative journalism at it's finest -- exposing the dirty BIG secrets of industrialized agriculture. In this case "honey" that ISN'T honey is laundered through business-as-usual relationships via untraceable multiple brand names to a supermarket, restaurant, convenience store, drug store, fast food outlet near you. The fact that the FDA knows all about it but minimally inspects is also the story. Think of all those dubious apples (arsenic in imported apple concentrate) pesticide-laden fruit, maple syrup (cane sugar), seafood, garlic, veggies and processed products coming in to the US from China and other exporters at low prices bolstering food corporation bottom lines while putting honest farmers and producers out of business...

So -- Run, don't walk, to your nearest local beekeeper and stock up on the Real Thing and taste the difference -- and you'll be much the healthier. And, oh.... BTW we NEED US bees for pollination purposes as well -- our food supply depends on it. Now if an investigation would only pin down another major industrial ag malady --colony collapse disorder -- while the usual subjects (pesticides, GMOs) go on and on with agribusiness as usual....

Just one more reason why "organic" is an expensive joke. Want good honey, buy from your local beekeeper. 'Organic' provides zero assurance of quality.

Never put honey in the microwave or the refrigerator. It is best stored in a nice warm place. All honey over time can have some crystallization but placing it in a pan of hot water will restore it to it's liquid state.

I am a small berry farm operation using organic growing methods with several colonies of honey bees. They are indeed one of the most amazing insects and the only insect that makes food. We owe much to the tiny honey bee. Do you know that a single bee will only make 1 teaspoon of honey in it's lifetime and that it makes hundreds of trips out to gather the nectar to make that teaspoon. Raw honey has numerous health benefits. It's an excellent wound healer, good for coughs, skin and hair, an energizer and full of antioxidants. Eating local raw honey is wonderful for allergies, a good digestive aid and it's full of vitamins and minerals. I use honey on a bee sting and it never swells or gets irritated.

The company whom I worked for in a management capacity know full well the honey it sells comes from Chinese suppliers but their main interest is their bottom line. Don't fall for their advertising spin folks. Buy your honey from small dealers and you won't get poisoned with Chinese chemicals.

Want the best honey which will help reduce allergies in your area? Buy directly from the beekeepers or jars with a local beekeeper's address on it (some of us DO sell through local groceries and other stores). If you're suspicious, make an appointment to come see the beekeeper's facilities. Many/most of us are proud of our hives and are happy to show them off.

No, Chinese honey isn't safe honey, or, indeed, honey at all because they adulterate it with HFCS and other versions of sugar water. It's not SAFE honey because they allow the use of pesticides that we don't allow here and because of the antibiotics they use.

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey