A massive honey fraud has been revealed by the European Commission. "A significant proportion of honey imported into Europe is suspected of being fraudulent, but this honey is often not detected," said the services of the European executive, in a report published on Thursday, March 23.
According to the sampling and monitoring work conducted by Brussels, almost half of the honey from non-European countries is blended with sugar syrups made from rice, wheat or sugar beet. All additives are forbidden according to European regulations. Of the 320 batches of honey tested by the Joint Research Centre, the Commission's official laboratory, 147 were found to be fraudulent. That is 46% of the samples analyzed. This represents a significant proportion of the honey consumed in Europe. With 175,000 metric tons of honey imported per year (or about 40% of consumption), the Old Continent is the second largest importer of honey in the world after the United States. The "fake honey" that has been pinpointed comes mainly from China and Turkey.
Germany alone accounts for about one-third of European honey imports from third countries. Of the 32 samples taken in Germany, half were suspected of being fraudulent, mainly destined for the German market.
France was not left behind. Of the 21 samples taken in France, only four were real honey.
Five batches of suspected fraudulent honey were destined for the French market, while a dozen non-compliant batches were destined for Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain and the Netherlands.