Exposing Honey Products | Fake, Nutrient-Depleted Honey Entering US Stores Unchecked

For decades honey has been rightfully touted as one of the great natural foods for healthy living. This incredible food is packed full of health promoting enzymes and essential nutrients which have been shown to cleanse the body, sooth the airways and specifically help with allergies. However, a new study has revealed some little-known secrets regarding its treatment and its origins.

Most Honey Comes from China and is Not Real Honey

A new study conducted for Food Safety News shows that at least a whopping 3/4 of the honey sold in the US is not real honey according to Food and Drug Administration standards. In order for honey to be deemed “honey” in the United States, the honey must contain pollen as it naturally would. While the FDA has a strict rule on what is and what isn’t considered real honey, they actually don’t bother to check the honey sold.

The study found that more than 75 percent of the honey tested had the pollen removed through an ultra-filtration process. To conduct the study on real honey, more than 60 jars or containers of honey were tested from 10 states and the District of Columbia. Vaughn Bryant, a professor at Texas A&M University and melissopalynologist, found the following results.

According to the study:

• 76 percent of samples bought at groceries had all the pollen removed.

• 100 percent of the honey sampled from drugstores had no pollen.

• 77 percent of the honey sampled from stores like Costco, Walmart, and Target contained no pollen.

• 100 percent of the honey packaged as individual service portions from Smucker, McDonald’s and KFC had the pollen removed.

•  Every one of the samples Food Safety News bought at farmers markets, co-ops and “natural” stores like PCC and Trader Joe’s had the full, anticipated, amount of pollen.

All of this honey which has been found to be free of pollen goes through a process called ‘ultra-filtration’. Ultra-filtration drains the honey of impurities like wax and pollen by heating the honey and then forcing it through small filters at high speeds. The problem with this process on a health level revolves around pollen, a fantastic ingredient loaded with essential nutrients, being completely drained from the honey. Consumers are being led to believe that the honey being purchased is real honey while in reality the authenticity and nutritional value is seriously compromised by food treatment methods. This is especially sad news when realizing honey is a great food of choice to store for preparedness as well as utilizing as a nutritional superfood.

Not only does the process of ultra-filtration result in a deterioration of quality, but it also leaves the source of the honey completely untraceable. China has used techniques similar to ultra-filtration in order to illegally dump honey into the United States. Mark Jensen, president of the American honey Producers Association, says the following regarding the ultra-filtration process.

“I don’t know of any U.S. producer that would want to do that. Elimination of all pollen can only be achieved by ultra-filtering and this filtration process does nothing but cost money and diminish the quality of the honey…in my judgment, 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”

Not so shockingly, the honey found in farmers markets and health food stores have been found to be higher quality than honey found other places like drugstores. Generally speaking, this will be the case with any food, as natural and organic food is almost always treated better and less abused than conventional food. But don’t be confused by deceptive slogans and products labeled as partially organic by multi-national corporations, as multi-national corporations often own smaller “organic” food companies in order to get a slice of the sales from health-conscious individuals.

One of Many Unnecessary Food Treatments

Ultra-filtrating and honey is not the only unnecessary food treatment out there. Crops are irradiated, milk and other beverages are pasteurized, animals are fed antibiotics and growth hormones, and deadly chemicals are added to the water supply. The food we are eating is lifeless, with nutrient content that lower than ever. Food treatment methods such as ultra-filtration do not help promote optimum health. A point has been reached where food must be investigated before being consumed. Become aware, as awareness is the first step to change.