5/14/14 9:07 PM

https://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/that-honey-you-just-bought-might-not-really-be-honey.html


Glad we get ours from a gal that I can see the equipment in her shop. ;)

Got two 1.75ltr maple flower honey jars today.

5/15/14 12:38 AM

This is interesting and spooky at the same time.

Some 5 or 6 years ago, when the price of honey seemed to be going down, I started wondering where it was coming from, and so stopped using it altogether.

Previously, it was disclosed that imported honey from places like India was frequently contaminated with heavy metals, likely from random old metal containers used in collecting real honey, but the cheap stuff that started coming into the stores for 2.99/qt (on sale) I could tell seemed to be something else, didn't have the qualities I remember in honey that was served in the old days.
I'm betting corn syrup myself.

Some years ago it was the olive oil that was being traded through unaccountable global markets that turned out to be really toxic, mixed with who-knows-what.

I check labels these days for country of origin, but increasingly the labeler gets away with only a "distributed by Greenbriar" or some such global conglomerate, followed by the city and state in which their offices operate out of.
A few of the Chinese canned foods I've accidentally purchased seem to be fake in some way or another.

Now if the FDA isn't beholden to the Dept of Commerce, why can't they test honey for it's carbohydrate profile to distinguish it from corn syrup?
No way are they the same.

5/15/14 3:05 AM

The point of the article is that what is sold as honey often contains no pollen, and so COULD BE something else. But that doesn't mean that it IS.

But there are still good reasons to buy locally!

5/15/14 6:52 AM

http://www.viralnova.com/hilarious-product-names/#Jf8ZzrwD4tMrD5Rt.01

5/15/14 9:07 AM

OK, Soup for Sluts just made me choke on my coffee. LOL

5/15/14 9:28 AM

I'll have to consider setting up a soup kiosk with that name.

The odd thing here is that it appears to be written in English(?).

This Senior Editor at Yahoo Shine hasn't really done much homework, except to perhaps send out the warning to giant honey suppliers that honey inspections might finally be forthcoming.
Would testing for pollen levels really be a useful measure of a honey's purity from dilution?

A prompt and comprehensive examination of what's on the market would seem to be a good status indicator of the integrity of today's global food supply chain, but if the FDA hasn't set up much testing beyond what this author describes, maybe nothing on the shelves should be trusted any more.

5/15/14 9:47 AM

...that's when you begin to wonder about the point...

5/15/14 10:24 AM

Well. as Andy said, don't panic. The article is ridiculously alarmist. First he says the study "shows that most of the honey on supermarket shelves isn't really honey," and then explains that the study actually shows that the pollen has been filtered out, which makes it harder to detect contamination and determine origin. But it doesn't show that it "isn't really honey."

I note the article is 2 1/2 years old. FDA has very recently announced new rules on labeling for honey cut with other sugars, for what that's worth.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fda-honey-any-added-sweeteners-isnt-honey
http://www.fda.gov/food/guidanceregulation/guidancedocumentsregulatoryinformation/labelingnutrition/ucm389501.htm

5/15/14 10:32 AM

The irony is real honey will becoming more expensive due to other food becoming more plentiful and cheaper. That is the population of honey bees, including domestic, is decreasing due to the use of pesticides.

5/15/14 11:02 AM

quote:

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due to other food becoming more plentiful and cheaper

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5/15/14 11:38 AM

FDA link good info. Sorry for the semi zombi link.

We were just googling honey to compare price to normal commercial outlets as compared to our local honey lady. She has gone up 20% since we started getting honey from her in 2011 when I happened on her out exploring on the bike.

$10.00 for 1.75ltr was the price we started paying, she is up to $12.00, but still very good when you compare to the chain stores increases, the dollar I guess. And 1.75ltr is a big jar and lasts us months and months.

Last year she had Maple flower honey, she told me not had it for 20 years. It was an early honey, so I guess a milder early season has the bees with little choice and thus the Maple. This year again she has maple early before the other varieties/blossoms.
More too, unless I just got there earlier this year.
She was down to the little plastic bears last year.

Anyway, interesting to talk with her, from So America originally. She will have other varieties out by June she said, then more in July.

I only stopped by to return some empties not expecting to come home with anything...

So about to have some oatmeal with the maple honey and out for a ride.... Ciao for now.

5/15/14 2:36 PM

I never use honey from supermarket because the first time I bought from a supermarket didn't taste the way I like it. So I went to farmer's market when they're often willing to let me taste a few to find the one I like. I've since only bought honey from local sources.

It's not something I use a huge amount. So price differential is irrelevent.

5/15/14 4:16 PM

Each tastes different, the Maple is very light and the Wildflower honey and Blackberry flower she also does are heavier with distinctive overtones in each ones after taste. Colors are way different as well..

5/15/14 4:40 PM

No, I mean the supermarket ones, pollen or not

Since I can't tell what they MAY taste like, I never buy from supermarket.

That said, I'm not overly concerned about the "official" definition of honey. (granted, if it turns out those are REALLY just corn syrups, that's a different story. otherwise, the lack of pollen is not overly important)

5/15/14 4:48 PM

Doesn't the local pollen from local honey help with alergies.. locally?

5/16/14 8:31 AM

quote:

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That said, I'm not overly concerned about the "official" definition of honey. (granted, if it turns out those are REALLY just corn syrups, that's a different story. otherwise, the lack of pollen is not overly important)

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5/16/14 8:39 AM

I've had hey fever in spring time all my life. Allergy test had shown I'm sensitive to a lot of tree/grass pollens. I've resigned to not riding my bike in spring time...

But for no apparent reason, my sensitivity had decreased notably the last couple years. I'm now off oral meds, out on my bike in spring time twice or three times a week, with only occasional puff of the med in my nose and eye drops before and after ride.

No, I did NOT eat more local honey. Nor did I change my diet. It's not clear to myself nor to my doctor what changed that makes it better.

I think it's quite difficult to do reproduceable research on allergy. It's affected by too many factors.

5/16/14 8:51 AM

Doesn't the local pollen from local honey help with allergies.. locally?

What I've read in relatively mainstream sources suggests that the benefit is very slight if there is any at all. The theory is that the pollen in local honey helps with immunity to pollen you're allergic to, but most of the pollen bees collect is from flowers that do not send their pollen into the air, so little if any of the airborne pollen that causes allergies will be present in any honey.

I suppose, if you know you're allergic to some pollen that is known to be in honey, such as apple blossoms or clover, you'd get some benefit, but if you're in the usual category of allergy to airborne pollen like ragweed, you're pretty well out of luck.

The idea is kind of nice, though, and it does give you an excuse to dip into the honey jar, a benefit in its own right.

5/17/14 7:46 AM

I used to have bad hay fever when I was in my teens to early twenties. Over time it decreased to the point that I have little reaction to springtime pollen, even in bad years. It's also possible to become allergic to something as you get older, too.