It might look, smell and taste like it, but in most cases what’s sold in American stores is not technically honey.

 

According to the Food and Drug Administration, honey that does not contain pollen is not honey, officially. Often the thickly sweet condiment has been so processed and filtered, the pollen it once contained has been removed.

 

Testing performed on behalf of Food Safety News revealed that more than 75% of honey sold in grocery stores “isn’t exactly what the bees produce.”

 

In some case stores are selling illegally imported honey from China and India, which can contain illegal antibiotics or heavy metals. The ultra-filtering that removes pollen also hides the origin of the honey, leading Mark Jensen, president of the American Honey Producers Association to tell Food Safety News, “it is pretty safe to assume that any ultra-filtered honey on store shelves is Chinese honey and it’s even safer to assume that it entered the country uninspected and in violation of federal law.”

 

Samples of honey sold at Walgreens, Rite-Aid and CVS Pharmacy were found to lack any pollen whatsoever. The same was true for small packets given to customers at McDonald’s and KFC restaurants. At large grocery and box stores, less than 25% of honey sold contained pollen. On the other hand, every sample bought at a farmer’s market, co-op or “natural” food store had the full amount of anticipated pollen.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn't Honey (by Andrew Schneider, Food Safety News)

Top Pollen Detective Finds Honey a Sticky Business (by Andrew Schneider, Food Safety News)