Eco test
Dirt in Langnese Honey: The Ugly Practice of the Honey Industry
All that glitters is not honey
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Honey is a natural product. Nothing is allowed in there except honey. That’s the theory. But then Ökotest caught it cold, they found dirt in the Langnese honey. Other products attracted negative attention with sugar syrup and genetically modified pollen.
It’s no cakewalk: the testers have all sorts of things with them Eco test expected, but not dirt at all. The Langenese Fleet Bee Organic Blossom Honey contains “heavy impurities” writes the laboratory. After all: Of the 19 products tested, eight are “very good” and three are “good”, all of organic quality. But six honeys fail, with “poor” or the worst grade “insufficient”, including some with an organic seal.
But how the dirt got into the Langnese honey is a mystery to the testers. Langnese writes that the suppliers often do not have any complex facilities to sieve the honey. For Ökotest, however, this is not a conclusive argument and they know that there is a better way.
The test winners included Alnatura acacia honey (8.99 euros per 500 grams), DM organic acacia honey (8.90 euros) and Gut Bio honey from Aldi Nord/Aldi Süd (4.19 euros).
sugar syrup in honey? That is not allowed
The honey from Denreeblossom honey and the rapeseed honey from the Hessian beekeeping Högler caused amazement. The latter even bears the trademark “Real German Honey” with the strict quality criteria of the German Beekeepers’ Association. The laboratory found sugar syrup in both products. It is strictly forbidden by law, just like other additives. How did he get in there? There are two explanations: either it was faked and the honeys were actually diluted with sugar syrup. Or it was messed up and the syrup comes from feeding the bees sugar or syrup. If the beekeeper does not work properly here, traces of the syrup can be found in the honey after the additional feeding.
Ökotest discovered pollen from several genetically modified plants, including soy. You can only find out with the help of a laboratory. Consumers cannot rely on this addition being noted on the honey jar. Because genetically modified ingredients only have to be labeled on the packaging if they contain more than 0.9 percent.