November 2018 | Chere Kenyon

FAKE HONEY? “Bound to happen,” says local honey producer, Shirley Stephens of R Stephens Apiarists Pty Ltd. Capilano, a respected honey company, has come under fire when testing revealed some of its products are contaminated with ‘fake’ honey.

Capilano imported honey because the Australian beekeepers couldn’t supply honey at the prices they were willing to pay. “Capilano lost faith with a lot of the wonderful beekeepers of Australia by paying them a pittance for their honey.

Less than $5.00 in a kilo in most cases. You cannot keep bees at that price,” says Shirley, going on to say “the Australian Government is lax in its looking and testing,” This is despite the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council pleading with the Government to do more testing.

Even local businesses have had some fallout because of this issue. Shirley said that they may have to add the word ‘pure’ to their honey labels. “What goes out of here is pure honey. Why would you ruin nature’s number one product by fiddling with it,” she said. “Our market depends on the customer being able to pick up the jar of honey knowing that behind the label they can trust the product.”