Honey, have you been deceiving me all these years?

Is it really true that most of the honey we eat in the U.S. is not real honey, as has been claimed by the news media?  Why has honey become newsworthy lately?  FACT: Most honey sold in the U.S.A. does not contain pollen. Does that mean it’s not “real” honey?  Why is the FDA insisting that all honey contain pollen?  Does pollen make the honey more nutritious? Does the presence or absence of pollen affect the shelf life? Where can you purchase honey that contains pollen if that’s what you want? Should you want it? Let’s find out.

Some additional honey facts, opinions, and suspicions:

-More than ¾ of the honey sold in U.S. stores is not exactly what was taken from the hive, according to Food Safety News, an online site backed by a law firm that represents victims of food-borne illness.  Pollen and other particles have been removed by a process called ultrafiltering; sometimes the product has also been diluted.

-When pollen is removed from honey, it’s impossible to trace its place of origin.

-According to the American Honey Producers Association, more than 60 million lbs. of honey exported from India reached the U.S. during the first half of 20ll. This honey is believed to have been produced in China and sent to India to skirt American trade restrictions on Chinese honey (because of problems with contamination).  

-Most of the honey tested by a Food Safety News study (conducted by a Texas A & M University professor) wouldn’t pass the standards set by food safety agencies such as the World Health Organization and the FDA.

-Dr. Joshua Lambert, a food scientist that Shelf Life Advice consulted, considers it “a little unfair” to say that clarified [ultrafilered] honey is not really honey.  “I think it’s more common to call unclarified honey raw honey.”

There may be legitimate reasons why producers ultrafilter their honey.  According to the Los Angeles Times, “The procedure is sometimes used to make honey appear clearer or to extend its shelf life, but Food Safety News said its primary use is to mask the presence of contaminants in illegally imported foreign honey.” What contaminants? Accusations are that some honey entering the U.S. via India (but originating in China) contained heavy metals and antibiotics.  

The FDA’s recent response to potentially dangerous honey is to require that all honey contain pollen.  Says food scientist Dr. Luke F. LaBorde, “It seems that FDA told the honey industry not to ultrafilter because it eliminates any chance to trace where it came from.”  (Note: Traditional filtering removes bee parts, wax, debris from hives, and other visible contaminants but  leaves the pollen.)

Here’s the main question for you, the consumer: should you make the effort to locate honey with pollen?  Here’s what food scientist Dr. Joshua Lambert had to say, “I think there is a lot of scientific interest in understanding the phytochemicals that come into honey with propolis  [commonly called ‘bee glue’] and pollen and whether these have any beneficial effects (e.g. antimicrobial, anti-fungal, etc.). However, there is not clear consensus about beneficial effects of raw honey and the loss of those effects in clarified honey.

On the other hand, Dr. Lambert points out the down side of having pollen in your honey and the up side of removing it: “Pollen in honey can be a source of toxic compounds, depending on the plants that the bees visit.  Grayanotoxins are well-known toxins that come from rhododendron and mountain laurel.  Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, also toxic, come from different plants.  If either of these turn up in honey, and if someone gorges on the stuff, illness may follow.  Clarifying the honey and removing the pollen may reduce the levels of these compounds. However, normal consumption of unfiltered honey is unlikely to pose any risk from these compounds.”

Honey without pollen keeps longer without forming crystals, but crystals do not mean the product is spoiled, and they will disappear if the honey is heated. However, we imagine that stores would have trouble selling honey that had already formed crystals, which may explain why they prefer the ultrafiltered honey.

So, now that you know all this, do you want pollen in your honey or not? The ingredients list on the container probably won’t tell you if the product you’re holding does or doesn’t contain pollen, but Food Safety News has a helpful list. To find the list of brands and stores selling honey WITHOUT pollen, click here. In addition, more than three-quarters of the honey from Safeway, Costco, Walmart and Target had all the pollen removed, according to the Food Safety News study. On the other hand, all the study’s samples from farmers markets and Trader Joe’s had normal amounts of pollen, as did most containers labeled organic. 

To locate more information about honey on this site click on this link: http://shelflifeadvice.com/bakery-goods-and-sweets/sweets/honey

Sources(s):

foodsafetynews.com “Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey”
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/

latimes.com “Honey laundrering: When honey isn’t really honey”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/11/honey-laundering-when-honey-isnt-really-honey.html

consumerist.com “That Honey In Your Cabinet Probably Isn’t Honey”
http://consumerist.com/2011/11/that-honey-in-your-cabinet-probably-isnt-honey.html

Joshua Lambert, Ph.D., Dept. of Food Science, Pennsylvania State University

Luke L. LaBorde, Ph.D., Dept. of Food Science, Pennsylvania State University