The Northumberland Honey Company reveals that most honey sold is fake, urging consumers to be aware of authenticity.
Northumberland: Luke Hutchinson runs the Northumberland Honey Company with his wife, Suzie. They say the honey market is tough. Most honey is heavily adulterated.
Luke claims that a lot of honey is just sugar syrup. This isn’t real honey. Many people think they’re getting health benefits from honey, but it’s often fake.
He points out a big problem with cheap imports. There’s also a lack of awareness about this issue. Luke and Suzie are celebrating ten years in business with their 200 bee colonies.
They stress the importance of getting the message out about real honey. Luke mentions that UK bee farmers only produce 5% of the honey consumed in the UK.
They focus on organic growth and breed their own bees. They aim to create stronger bees that can survive winters and climate changes. Their goal is sustainable honey production.
Do You Know What You’re Consuming?
Luke highlights a big issue with honey adulteration. Many supermarket jars say they’re from the EU and non-EU countries, but that’s vague.
In contrast, they produce honey with high provenance, going straight from hive to jar. They pride themselves on being environmentally sustainable.
Luke refers to a study by the Honey Authenticity Network. They tested 30 honey samples from Britain. Only five were from UK beekeepers, while 25 were from retailers.
The results showed that 24 out of 25 jars from retailers were suspicious. All five samples from beekeepers were genuine.
The Government is working on honey authenticity. They’re collaborating with researchers and industry to improve testing methods.
Luke finds it hard to access retailers as a supplier. There are high costs for auditing and compliance. This makes their honey more expensive than cheap imports.
He notes that honey prices haven’t kept up with inflation. A jar should be worth £13, but they sell it for £9 to stay competitive.
To tackle challenges, the Northumberland Honey Company has diversified. They now make cosmetics, candles, and honey mead. Their team has grown to four, with plans to hire two more this year.
Though they started in 2015, beekeeping runs in their family. It goes back to the early 1900s. Their sons, Archie and Jasper, are already getting into beekeeping.
