Spurious honey bluffing consumers

Suppliers are mixing sugar, artificial syrups and flavorings with raw honey before selling it at stores

LAHORE:

For people seeking a natural cure to the seasonal cough or occasional cold, honey has always been a top recommendation from older kinfolk however, as an eclectic collection of fake, adulterated honey starts monopolizing store shelves following the onset of the winter season, many locals seemed to have lost faith in the centuries old remedy.

Every year, the arrival of winter signals a nationwide increase in the demand for pure honey, which is popular for its unique balance of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibiotic agents, all of which have been proven beneficial for treating various respiratory ailments that are triggered by the cold and dry weather.

On the flipside, a number of mafias operating within the provincial capital have started capitalizing on the peaking demand for the healing nectar by producing and supplying adulterated honey, which contains an amalgamation of raw honey, glucose extract, corn syrup, sugar and other additives, each of which reduces the health enhancing properties of the pure honey extracted by bees from a variety of flowers.

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“During winters, the demand for a wide variety of honey including berry honey, orange honey, sunflower honey, cardamom honey, wild honey, dandelion honey, and Himalayan honey, increases drastically since many people use the nectar for medicinal purposes. However, nowadays many big and small stores are deceiving buyers by discretely selling fake honey,” divulged Jamil Ahmed, the owner of a honey shop, who further informed that bulks of honey were produced in some areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

According to details obtained by The Express Tribune, the demand for honey in the country has seen an upward trend during the past few years, especially during winters, with 17,000 tons of honey produced across 12,000 honeybee farms. While suppliers who are charging a hefty price ranging from Rs2500 to Rs5000 per kg can be trusted with the quality of their honey, there are several other brands and sellers who are supplying jars of honey at much cheaper rates to clueless consumers, who are seeking to yield the health benefits of pure honey from a sugary concoction of fake honey, which claims to be “pure” on its packaging.

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“Although pure honey is strikingly beneficial for human health, especially vis a vis its efficacy in the treatment of certain diseases and wounds, all these beneficial properties are exclusive to pure honey and can never be yielded from spurious honey or farm honey. While fake honey is expected to be futile, farm honey too does not possess the same healing properties as pure honey since honeybees are confined in farms and the nectar they extract is from limited flowers only,” explained Tariq Sarwar, a food technologist, who felt that fake honey businesses were wasting away people’s health and money.

“Understanding the structure of this illegal trade, and enforcing strict regulations are necessary for protecting the consumers and the legitimate honey market,” claimed Danish Afzal, a honey shop owner from Bahawalnagar, who encouraged the government to work closely with the relevant stakeholders in order to understand current industry standards, best practices, and regulatory requirements, which will provide a basis for the development of effective control measures.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on the matter, the Additional Director General of Punjab Food Authority (PFA), Asif Dogar said, “We have initiated a crackdown against spurious honey manufacturers and many perpetrators have been arrested.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2023.