High Street Supermarket Honeys
- What Are You Buying?

It's obvious, isn't it?  Honey is meant to be a pure, natural product, harvested and packed for you, straight from the hive, just as the bees made it (well, with some additional assistance from a beekeeper - such as putting it into a jar!). 

But the supermarket high street honeys you see on the shelves might not always be what they seem - at least in some countries.  Unfortunately, contaminated honey has been making its way onto the grocery shelves....although, these honeys may not always be sold from the high street supermarket either.

If you read my honey buying tips, you'll see that in general, I advocate buying from a local beekeeper you trust, or at least an organic label honey, if you can, and I make a few other suggestions and give a few pointers.  But the fact is, many people are not able to buy their honey from a local beekeeper. 

Therefore, I think it's worth alerting readers to a few issues that have cropped up in recent years, so that you can keep a look out for what you are buying.  The key issues you need to look out for are:

• honey that actually contains a large percentage of corn syrup
• contaminated honey from other countries, such as China.

An article titled "State expands efforts to combat funny honey that isn't pure" provides interesting reading.

Some quotes from the article:

"People were taking raw honey, adding high fructose corn syrup and marketing it as grade A USDA No. 1 honey, but there is no such thing".

What is also interesting is the scam whereby fakes have been masquerading as expensive honeys!

""They're trading on the good name of honey to sell their product," Kenosha, Wis., beekeeper Tim Fulton said of phony honey peddlers.".

Ref: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-09-25-honey-producers_N.htm

In a further article Your Honey Isn't Honey concerns are raised about the lack of pollen in honey:

http://www.foodrenegade.com/your-honey-isnt-honey/

In short, I think some countries have a worse problem than others, but for me, by far the best solution is to try and buy your honey directly from a beekeeper you trust.  You could also consider becoming a beekeeper!

What Is Honey?
Alright, so you know honey bees make it, but have you ever wondered: What is honey, actually? Learn more here!

Organic Beekeeping
Producing organic honey is a complex business – even impossible for some beekeepers. Here is why.

Cooking With Honey
Check out these recipes using honey

Honey vs Sugar
A comparison of these popular sweeteners.

How To Start Beekeeping
Thinking of becoming a beekeeper? Lots of resources here!

Honey Health Benefits
Are there any health benefits of honey, or is it merely hype?

How Do Bees Make Honey?
Find out here!

Save The Bees Here are 10 top tips to save the bees!

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