Most Taiwanese Honey Fails Quality Standards

CF: 70% Of Honey Products Sold Below Quality
China Post (Taiwan), 9/9/2006

Over 70 percent of honey products available for sale at hypermarts in the greater Taipei area failed to meet national quality standards, according to findings of a survey released yesterday by the Consumers' Foundation (CF).

The CF recently completed examinations on 28 samples of honey products sold at major hypermarts in the metropolitan Taipei based on four criteria, including acidity, HMF (hydroxymethl furfural), diastase number, and cane sugar.

SEE: Honey Quality and International Regulatory Standards

After the examinations, the CF found that there were 20 sample products failing to pass one or more inspection criteria…

In addition, the CF also found that honey products sold in Hong Kong, mostly sourced from mainland China and South Korea, contain too much antibiotics residuals…

The officials called for consumers to choose glass-bottled honey products and not to select totally transparent honey, as transparent honey is usually mixed with chemical substances.