Imported honey not honey: bee keepers

Bee keepers are warning Australian consumers to watch out for certain locally-branded honey products that are not locally made and may not actually contain honey.

The warning comes as the consumer watchdog is honing in on imported brands with deceptive labelling that could be subverting the rules of local food standards, Fairfax's Good Food reports.

'Victoria Honey' is one brand with potentially deceptive packaging and Australia's bee industry claims the Turkish import is more likely made from corn syrup, as tests currently underway in Germany might confirm.

The cheap 1kg tubs of Victorian Honey can be found in fruit shops and grocers around Australia but the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council claims the product is not honey and is just some of the more than 200 tonnes of cheap honey that has poured into the local market in recent years.

The cheap imported products might be recognisable because they can have a funny taste, but honey bee council director Trevor Weatherhead said this might turn people off honey all together.

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has called for tougher penalties for importers who deceive the Australian public and rob local producers of a fair deal.

Nationals Senator John Williams said because of inadequate labelling laws it was the farmers who were paying the price on top of their ever-present struggles.

"This is just crazy. The honey industry is already doing it tough, we've got to help them and do what we can for them," he said.

Source: Good Food
Author: Nicholas McCallum, Approving editor: Simon Black