The Taipei City Department of Health yesterday said six of 15 products claiming to be pure honey had failed to meet standards and had been ordered off the shelves pending improvement.
The department said it randomly sampled 15 honey products that were labeled “pure,” “natural” or “100 percent,” and performed carbon isotope ratio tests to determine whether they were natural or synthetic.
Three products failed to meet Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) International standards, while three others failed to meet the meet Chinese National Standard (CNS) 1305.
Photo: Hsieh Chia-chun, Taipei Times
Food and Drugs Division Director Wang Ming-li (王明理) said the products that failed to meet the AOAC International standards were herb blossom honey (野生草本蜂蜜) by Teng Mao Technology Co (騰茂科技), “carefully selected natural pure honey” (嚴選野生純蜂蜜) by Sheng Long Hsuan Co (盛隆軒企業有限公司) and Huang-Fong honey (皇蜂牌蜂蜜) by Fu Yuan Foods Co (富元食品有限公司).
According to carbon isotope ratio test results, the three products are not pure honey and might have added sugar, the department said.
Imported honey products that failed to meet Taiwan’s CNS 1305 standard were Lune de Miel’s orange blossom honey from France and Honey Valley’s Tawari honey from New Zealand. Both failed to meet the amylase activity level requirement. Airborne’s honey for kids from New Zealand failed to meet the hydroxymethylfurfural level requirement.
“Amylase activity is basically produced by bees’ salivary secretion, which is a natural ingredient, but if honey is subject to high temperature during the concentration process it can be damaged,” Wang said.
Based on the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), the companies face a fine of between NT$40,000 and NT$4 million (US$1,211 and US$121,131) if they do not improve their products within the given time period, the department said.
Taiwan Beekeepers’ Association chairman Chiang Shun-liang (江順良) said people can tell natural and synthetic honey apart as natural honey looks thicker, is non-transparent and has bubbles on the surface, while it has a herbal or flowery scent and it tastes slightly sour when added to hot water.
By contrast, synthetic honey looks more transparent, does not have bubbles on the surface, may have a chemical scent and tastes sweet when added to hot water, he said.
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