Podcast about counterfeit honey

[Gerald Przybylski]

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[brian1...@gmail.com]

I listened to this podcast over the weekend and really liked it, economics for large-scale beekeeping with some historical perspective sprinkled in. 

-Brian Dunstan

[Bees & Beeks]

Finally got around to listening to this podcast.  It was good.  I also ended up subscribing to their podcast.  Thanks for introducing me to Freakonomics.

Bee Wise,

Mimi 

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On Apr 20, 2026, at 8:12 PM, brian1...@gmail.com <brian1...@gmail.com> wrote:

I listened to this podcast over the weekend and really liked it, economics for large-scale beekeeping with some historical perspective sprinkled in. 

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[Robert Silverstein]

Very interesting. Thanks, Jerry.

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[Maryly Snow]

What IS counterfeit honey? Is it adulterated with simple syrup? Is there

any real honey in counterfeit honey?

Maryly

On Apr 20, 2026, at 8:12 PM, brian1...@gmail.com <brian1...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Gerald Przybylski]

Mea McNeil did a program on the topic for the club a couple of years ago. 
https://www.alamedabees.org/meeting-presentation-materials/20230314-mea-mcneil/

Sugar syrup with additives that specifically target honey testing protocols. 
Dehydrated nectar. 
Ultrafiltered honey. 
Origins misrepresented and falsified. 

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[real...@aol.com]

In 2026 for the first time ever the FDA has found that ionly 2% of US and Imported honey were adultered down crom 80%  ???? And ? 

Adultered honeyy is made with

Various sweetnvers the cheaper the. Better corn , beedt ,  rice and a score of closely guarded coloring and chemhcal . It is hard to find a list.

What is interesting bbif it was wine the productreur would be banned from selling their wine , 

honey they pay a fine and back in Business selling the same garbage 

Retailers are part of of the problem, they want the cheapest product as possible , I am aware of only one major retailer testing honey , COSTCO , if they found their honey is adulterated it is pulled out off the shelves all the other realky di not care . 

There are score if other food sold at premium price which actually are not even wbat thegh are supposed to be , starting by biologic food ! 

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[Gerald Przybylski]

We have an FDA left after DOGE cuts?  That's comforting. 

I looked at labels yesterday at Costco.  The bear containers said Brazil.  The square container said Argentina. 
At least they're honest about labeling it from the country they think it originated in. 

As Mea pointed out in her program, there's a lot of fake honey that's trans-shipped and relabeled. 
Vietnam reportedly exports more honey than it could possibly produce; much of it presumed to be fake/adulterated from China,  and becomes Vietnamese when someone 
creates new shipping documents and slaps different labels on the barrels. 

On the other hand, the nectar  for our east Oakland honey comes from eucalyptus trees which are Australian natives. 
How many other exotic nectar sources are in it, and other urban honeys.  (virtual foreign honey)
At least it's naturally produced, harvested and handled.  
Since we don't treat for Varroa in our yard (since the bees don't need it) we don't have to wave our hands saying, "oh,  the traces of treatment product left over are OK."  It simplifies the conversation if it ever comes up.

Since we have no control over the nectar sources,  without a chemical analysis we can't know what chemicals our bees are bringing back from the surrounding square miles of forage. 
Winston's book Bee Time mentions a colleague, Chris Mullen, who apparently published a paper in 2010 that reported 121 different pesticides in the wax comb. 
Maybe I need to do some sleuthing to find that paper.  Was he sampling wax from commercial colonies?  Did he sample any urban beeks? 
What do the gardening services spray on their client's flowers.  Then there are the neonicotinoid products used on plants that come from nurseries. 
It's complicated.

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[Bees & Beeks]

FDA funding has been severely slashed.  If it doesn’t pose a health risk, we currently have absolutely NO testing for it since Federal budget cut and layoffs of THOUSANDS of employees. Multiple food safety testing labs were closed then reopened months later (people hired at lab have no background in food safety but vowed allegiance to current administration - inside scoop from friend who WAS FDA lawyer).  Even prior to budget cuts our process to test and stop adulterated honey wasn’t good.  Getting a case “proven” in courts was very difficult and often large companies would just drag case on for years until Fed government agrees to plea deal - fine of some sort, no one really held accountable but product pulled.  Smaller companies often “closed” business on paper but reopened under different name and logo with clean slate.  So it’s not surprising that only 2% tested false from 80% (since it’s dubious how much testing was really done).   The good guys follow the laws but the bad guys have unlimited creative ways to skirt punishment.  

BTW honey from China has had 200% tariffs for over 2 decades so an additional 10% or even 100% to 300% makes no difference.   The initial 200% tariffs on Chinese honey in 2001 meant that over the last 25 years China has streamlined “transshipping” process.  Those same transshipping routes were expanded since tariff wars last year; that’s why cheap Made In China items hasn’t gone up much.  It just goes through more middlemen and dropped the “Made in China” logo.   For Chinese companies it’s business as usual just via different distributors. Overall it barely registered to the increase cost of living, unlike the rapid rise of gas prices and yet another drastic increase in food costs.  

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On Apr 23, 2026, at 2:54 AM, 'real...@aol.com' via The Alameda County Beekeepers Association <the-alameda-county-b...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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