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What’s in your Honey?

Universally, honey is believed to be a natural product. Regulations across the world say as much. The Codex Alimentarius Commission is a global body set up jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop food standards for international trade; it defines …

The study

OXYTETRACYCLINE Belonging to the common antibiotic class of Tetracyclines, this antibiotic is used by beekeepers against bacterial foul brood diseases. The BIS recommends it for the treatment of European foul brood disease. HEALTH IMPACTS: Chronic exposure to oxytetracycline or OTC can lead to bloodrelated disorders, liver injury and delayed blood …

The results

Multiple antibiotics in high amounts were found in 11 out of the 12 samples. All 11 samples failed the antibiotics standards set by the Indian government’s Export Inspection Council (EIC) for exported honey. The two imported honey samples were also highly contaminated with antibiotics. Both would have failed their own …

Bee farms to shops

The journey of honey from bee farms to breakfast tables has become complex with time. From wild honey gatherers, honey supply has passed into the hands of cooperatives of individual beekeepers and then to big companies. The cooperatives could have helped beekeepers demand better prices, but they did not last …

Chinese honey route

Of late, honey is being associated with shady dealings, crime, and and a thriving illegal trade spanning the globe. One may wonder why honey, a natural product, is shipped illegally. The reasons become clear if one considers the stringent food safety regulations in Western countries and questionable beekeeping practices in …

The battle for control of our bodies

They say you are what you eat. But do we know what we are eating? Do we know who is cooking and serving us the food we take to our kitchens and then into our bodies? The more I dig into this issue it becomes clear that our world of …

Antibiotic residues in honey

CSE laboratory tests find high levels of antibiotics in well-known brands of honey sold in the market. Antibiotics are found in honey largely because they are used in apiculture for treatment of bacterial diseases. Oxytetracycline is commonly used to treat European foulbrood disease (EFB) and American foulbrood diseases (AFB) caused …

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