Half of the honey imported into the EU suspected of being trafficked

by time news

A chilling report. According to an investigation by European anti-fraud authorities, almost half of the honey imported into the European Union is suspected of being adulterated.

The European Union imports 40% of its honey consumption, it is the second largest importer in the world after the United States. The survey showed that around 46% of imported honeys are strongly suspected of derogating from EU rules. Anti-fraud authorities who checked 320 samples in several Member States declared most of the honey imported from China suspect, as well as almost all of the honey imported from Turkey.

According to the survey, the addition of rice or beet sugar syrups is the main fraudulent technique. The objective of the fraudsters is to lower the price of honey to the detriment of European beekeepers. For’Unaf (National Union of French Beekeeping), this observation is not a surprise. The profession has been warning for several years about the poor quality of imported honey. According to Henri Clement, Unaf spokesperson, there is a paradox: as the harvest declines in major producing regions due to climate change, Asian hornets and pesticides, there is more and more honey on the market. A sign that this drop in production is compensated by counterfeit honey. »

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The profession calls on the European authorities to develop more reliable analytical methods to better detect adulterated honeys, which would make it possible to change their classification from “suspected” to “confirmed”. She also asks Brussels to change the labeling regulations. The current rules put producers of honey from a single country on an equal footing with producers of blended honey from several countries, sometimes up to six different provenances. These associations are calling for blends of honey to be made compulsory on the labels and suggest mentioning the different countries of origin, specifying the percentage by country. If you are a honey lover, beware of too low prices.

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