Be careful with imports

How to tell if honey is real or adulterated

Many honey products do not come from busy bees.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Oliver Berg)

Three out of four honey samples from Austrian supermarkets were found to be adulterated in DNA tests. The first supermarket chains are reacting and subjecting the goods to a quality test The Minister of Agriculture is campaigning against this and explains how to recognize genuine local honey.

It is diluted with sugar syrup made from corn, rice or beet, diluted with water and mixed with colorants: The majority of honeys available in Austrian supermarkets should not be sold as such. This has now been revealed by a DNA test commissioned by ORF on 31 honey samples from local stores.

Opportunity for regional products
A year ago, Michaela Langer-Weninger (ÖVP), Member of the Provincial Council for Agriculture, drew attention to the problem of imported fake honey in the "Krone" newspaper. Now she feels vindicated: "The new findings on honey adulteration are shocking, but they are also an opportunity. If the demand for regional honey increases, domestic beekeeping could benefit enormously."

The DNA test revealed something else: the goods produced in Austria passed the test without any problems. The adulterated honey, on the other hand, mainly comes from China, Turkey, Ukraine, Mexico and Argentina.

We have been providing information about the problem for a year now. If you want to avoid this honey fraud, choose local quality honey.

Agrarlandesrätin Michaela Langer-Weninger (ÖVP)

Supermarkets are clearing the shelves
Large supermarket chains such as Spar are now drawing the first conclusions from the test. Honey shelves have been emptied and labeled with the notice: "Our quality assurance is currently checking imported honeys as a precautionary measure." For Langer-Weninger, the road to 100 percent transparency is still a long one: "We have to educate people and focus on regionality." Initiatives such as the "Honey on the Test Bench" event last May together with the Upper Austrian Bee Center are therefore likely to become more frequent.

A look at the label
But how can consumers recognize adulterated honey? "Unfortunately not with the naked eye," says the Provincial Councillor. She recommends taking a close look at the label: the terms "Austrian agriculture" and "Country of origin Austria", for example, are reliable. Products with a red-white-red flag or the inscription "Bottled in Austria", on the other hand, are misleading.