After checking 20 honey samples bought in supermarkets in Jelgava, Jurmala and Riga, it was concluded that only six of them meet authentic honey standard, as reported by Latvian Beekeepers Association (LBB). The remaining 14 samples were deemed as not authentic honey. Tests were performed by Estonian “Celvia CC AS” laboratory.
LBB Chairman Valters Brusbārdis stresses that Latvian beekeepers have been in crisis for multiple years. The situation is more or less the same in other European countries. “Beekeeping in Europe is showing weakness. An absurd situation – Latvian and European beekeepers have difficulty selling authentic honey, whereas the “honey” described as “not authentic” by a certified laboratory is freely available in stores! Beekeepers are unable to compete with fake honey.”
Brusbārdis notes that authentic honey procurement prices in wholesale are very low, and it is very difficult to sell locally made honey on the domestic and export markets. At the same time, Latvian beekeepers are able to produce quality honey in amounts that exceed Latvia’s domestic consumption.
“The cause of the crisis – unfair business environment in the EU and imports of cheap “honey” from third countries. This is very much the case in Latvia,” says the Chairman of LBB,
who invites the government to protect local beekeepers and ensure fair trade of authentic honey in Latvia and the EU.
“Alarming, but it comes as no surprise” – this was the association’s comment about the results of laboratory tests of honey bought from supermarkets in Latvia. Other EU member states report fake honey cases. These countries include Germany, Estonia and Austria, the association notes.
As explained by the association, EU legislation allows honey packaging companies to form a single batch of honey containing “honey” from two or more countries: “This is a common practice of EU honey packaging companies – honey produced by EU beekeepers is mixed with honey from third countries, most often a very cheap product from China. In this case, the label on the tare indicates:
the origin of the honey is a mixture of honey produced in EU countries and honey produced in non-EU countries.
Statistics show that in 2023, the EU imported 60 177 tonnes of ‘honey’ from China. A mind-boggling amount,” notes the association.
None of the Chinese products were concluded to be authentic in the laboratory tests, LBB stresses.
“All honey packaging companies have to do is to add a “teaspoon” of authentic EU-produced honey to a “barrel” of honey brought from China. This allows them to state on the label: Honey blend made in EU countries and non-EU countries,” the association explains.
Only a handful of products with such a label are considered authentic, the association notes.
LBB has issued a call to the government to prevent the situation when a product labelled “honey” is sold in Latvian outlets if it is not authentic and does not comply with the EU Council Directive 2001/110/EC, as well as to join and promote the arrangement of the honey market business environment in the EU.
“Restrictions and strict monitoring of honey imports from third countries are necessary; accreditation of laboratory methods for authentication of honey in a short period of time should be promoted; misleading of consumers at points of sale should be prevented, as well as full information on the origin of honey on labels should be introduced as soon as possible,” the association concluded.
Meanwhile, the society invited the residents to choose real honey of Latvian origin – authentic honey, on the label of which Latvia is indicated as the country of origin.