Local producers feeling the sting from fake honey imports

“When you think of all the factors that go into making honey, we need to make sure that our beekeepers are getting value for the effort, work and commitment and ultimately the risk they’re putting in to offer a quality product,” says Nichole Neubauer, operator of Neubauer Farms.

Neubauer doesn’t sell the honey her 15,000 bees produce, instead she uses them in an education setting.

“We did feel that honey production and beekeeping needed to have a light shed on it because people have a lot of questions about how we get honey and the health and well being of bee colonies.”

When honey is imported into Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) runs tests only accepting products from licensed producers.

Under Canadian law, honey cannot contain any added sugars.

During the latter part of 2018, the CFIA prevented about 12,800 kg of cut honey worth $77,000 from entering the Canadian market.

However, a recent report shows the agency collected 240 targeted samples across Canada, and 22 per cent tested positive for fake sugars.

Creating an unfair market for local honey producers.

“If a product that claims to be honey is not genuine honey that would cheat consumers and then it also introduces unfair competition to honest players in the market,” says Jodi White, national manager of strategies and planning in the consumer protection and market fairness division of the CFIA. “Producers of genuine honey are then competing with lower cost products because it’s usually cheaper to a honey that’s mixed with sugar syrups, so if that happens it creates an uneven playing field.”

Some fake honey red flags consumers can watch out for is when the price is very low and there’s no way to contact the producer.

Canadian honey is reliable, when the CFIA collected the samples, 100% of the Canadian honey tested was pure.

Or better yet, Neubauer says consumers should aim to buy local.

“If you’re looking at purchasing honey please check the label and check for Canadian honey and even more importantly check for local honey, supporting your local farmer is essentially the best, the number one way you can support bees,” she says.

She adds there needs to be a consistent customer base for local producers, or some may choose to leave the industry.

In the meantime, any fake honey can be reported to the CFIA.

by Jessie Weisner

Local producers feeling the sting from fake honey imports

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