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Most store honey isn't honey

PMedMoe

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This is an American article, however, I'd think results in Canada might be similar.

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More than three-fourths of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn't exactly what the bees produce, according to testing done exclusively for Food Safety News.

The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled "honey." The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world's food safety agencies.

The food safety divisions of the  World Health Organization, the European Commission and dozens of others also have ruled that without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration says that any product that's been ultra-filtered and no longer contains pollen isn't honey. However, the FDA isn't checking honey sold here to see if it contains pollen.

Ultra filtering is a high-tech procedure where honey is heated, sometimes watered down and then forced at high pressure through extremely small filters to remove pollen, which is the only foolproof sign identifying the source of the honey. It is a spin-off of a technique refined by the Chinese, who have illegally dumped tons of their honey - some containing illegal antibiotics - on the U.S. market for years.

More at link

Who knew?  ??? 
 
I go through lots of honey - I love the stuff! In Manitoba I was used to clover honey, and now I learn the brand I usually bought may not have contained any pollen! The last jar of Manitoba honey I had a friend gave me, and it was from a private producer. I don't know about pollen content. Now I'm in Nova Scotia, and buy my honey at the Farmers Market in Halifax. I love the different flavour of the fruit blossom honey - and as far as I can find out - it has pollen. Besides, its cheaper than the stuff at Walmart or Sobey's! A case of buyer beware!

Hawk

 
Yikes!!! Well, my wife is now a Nutritionalist, and she's got me buying only non-pasteurized honey. When possible, we also get it from the local farmer's market. And yes, I actually can taste the difference - it's so much better. Darn good stuff that bee vomit...
 
I love honey, and we get it in huge 5lb tubs once a year from the local bee harvesters, that we use in baking, tea, and for the occasional sore throat and pick-me-up.
 
Staff Weenie - I hear ya about the difference in taste.  I find that pasturized honey is almost bitter, whereas non-pasturized actually tastes sweet.

I find the smaller supermarkets will usually carry non-pasturized from a local beekeeper.
 
Local farmer's markets are all over the place, also a great place to find some!
 
If anyone is out west, simply contact a local hutterite colony...they will know which colony sells honey. I get a 12 tub of honey for $12.00
 
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