Honey, it's actually corn, Vic buyers told

Would honey by any other name smell as sweet?

Apparently, yes, although some shoppers have recently discovered that their so-called honey doesn't actually come from bees.

A food importer has been fined $30,600 for selling syrup derived from corn and sugar cane from Turkey as Victorian honey.

Basfoods Australia has also been forced to remove all the "misleading" products off supermarket shelves, after concerns were raised by the local honey bee industry to the consumer watchdog.

Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the finding was a win for consumers and local honey producers, which would no longer be forced to compete with the illegally-sold products.

Not only did the company mislead consumers about the content of the honey, but also about where it was from, he said on Tuesday.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has also put other fake honey suppliers on notice.

It says it will use this case to inform its decision on five other complaints.