21/10/2025
When is honey not honey? It’s National Honey Day and, it so happens, National Apple Day, two things very close to our hearts here at Mistletoe Orchard.
Today is about celebrating REAL FOOD so I thought I would share some of the things I learned at a talk I attended recently at Sparsholt College on the adulteration of honey. This doesn’t just affect consumers overseas…
You’ll know from my posts how much time our bees need to produce honey and for us to extract it. Bees add enzymes to nectar and dry it, turning nectar to honey. This takes time, and on a commercial scale, time is money. To short cut the process, nectar can be removed from the hives before the bees have processed it, sugar syrups, and enzymes, pollen and colourants added, and the resulting mixture artificially dried. One of the photos I’ve posted today shows the results of laboratory analysis of honeys from UK supermarket shelves. You’ll see the tests conducted on the left, which honeys were tested along the top of the screen and results in the middle. An amber colour shows where the honey failed a test. The results are plain to see.
So my message to you on this National Honey Day is to buy your honey direct from the beekeeper, and enjoy it for its uniqueness. Yes it costs a little more, but at least you’ll know what’s in the jar! 🙂🍯
