Testing on supermarket imported honey finds some is not all honey
The Australian honey industry is investigating the purity of imported honey. (ABC Midwest Wheatbelt: Jo Prendergast)
In short:
Australian beekeepers are paying for imported supermarket honey to be tested for purity, with early results showing other products being added.
The industry tested 30 products, with some showing signs of adulteration.
What's next?
Honey adulteration is a global issue, and Australian beekeepers say they are working with the Department of Agriculture to improve testing standards.
Australian beekeepers have funded an investigation into the authenticity of imported honey on supermarket shelves, with early results showing some imported products are not pure honey.
Honey is regarded as one of the most adulterated foods in the world and can be blended with products such as rice syrup or cane sugar.
Australian beekeepers are concerned Australia's current border testing of imported products is not detecting some forms of adulteration.
Chair of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, Jon Lockwood, said the industry was on a mission to modernise Australia's testing standards and work with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
"We did a broad sweep, we [tested] about 30 [imported honeys] and we found a few honeys that had been pre-packed before they were imported into Australia that showed that they were adulterated," he said.
"We are not on a witch hunt, we are just trying to paint a bit of a picture of what is happening with the honey coming into Australia."
Beekeepers say shoppers can look for labelled Australian honey to support the local industry. (ABC Midwest Wheatbelt: Jo Prendergast)
Beekeepers contributed their own money to fund testing conducted in laboratories in Germany.
"Our end goal is to show [DAFF] that perhaps some of this honey is slipping through the cracks with their current testing protocol, and that its testing protocol needs to be examined and brought up to the modern-day era," Mr Lockwood said.
"DAFF have been really helpful, we've been happy to work with them."
Mr Lockwood said DAFF's testing was "very, very outdated" and did not detect some products honey could be blended with, such as rice syrup.
"It's a very grey area internationally on how to detect a pure honey, and that's what we are trying to investigate with the federal government to see if we can find some better [testing] protocols," he said.
"Any honey should only be produced from the bee, that's what we need to advocate for.
"We are trying to give our Australian beekeepers a level playing field."
Upsetting results
Imported honey is often sold at a cheaper price than Australian-produced honey.
In 2024, Australia imported 9 million kilograms of honey from countries such as China, Argentina, Brazil and India.
Kim Fewster is a fourth-generation beekeeper based near Perth in Western Australia. (ABC Midwest Wheatbelt: Jo Prendergast)
Fourth-generation beekeeper Kim Fewster said it was difficult to compete in supermarkets, and to hear some imported products were not pure honey, as labelled, was distressing.
"It's very upsetting because the consumer doesn't know that the honey is adulterated," he said.
"What I keep saying to everybody is that if you buy honey that is local, if you go and buy your honey from the beekeeper down the road, that is the best honey in the world because you know where it has come from."
Mr Fewster said consumer confidence in honey labelling was low and the industry was attempting to increase consumer awareness of the benefits of buying local.
"I keep saying to everybody, 'You can buy a good kilo of beautiful West Australian honey for less than a Big Mac meal,'" Mr Fewster said.
Australian honey producers say Australia's honey is some of the best in the world. (ABC Mid West Wheatbelt: Jo Prendergast)
The Australian beekeeping industry has endured some of its most challenging times recently, with millions of bees lost to varroa mites and drought reducing honey production in some regions.
Mr Lockwood said the best way for consumers to support the industry was to read a product label.
"The biggest thing they can do for the Australian industry, and ensure their honey is pure and clean, is to ensure it's 100 per cent Australian honey," he said.
"One out of every three mouthfuls of food we consume is directly impacted by honey bees pollinating that crop.
"So by buying Australian honey, we're supporting the beekeeper and therefore food security."
Much of Australia's food production depends on bee pollination. (Supplied: Jeremy Jones)
Testing protocols under review
A DAFF spokesperson said testing was being conducted to compare current assessment protocols.
"Imported honey samples are analysed using internationally accepted standard methods for detecting adulterated honey," they said.
"The department is conducting a pilot survey to assess the authenticity of imported honey samples and compare the department's current border tests with the performance of commercially available analytical tests.
"The results of this survey will inform if further work is required to update our testing capability at the border."
The spokesperson said 5 per cent of consignments were randomly referred for testing under the Imported Food Inspection Scheme.
Between 2020 and 2024, honey products that were tested had an average compliance rate of 97 per cent.