Honey has been a treasured natural sweetener for millennia. Honey fraud has been an issue for most of that time, but in recent years, honey fraud has become a major concern in the UK and worldwide. As the demand for honey rises, so do deceptive practices that threaten both consumers and ethical beekeepers. Honey fraud refers to the misrepresentation of honey through adulteration, mislabeling, and substitution. This post dives into how honey fraud occurs, why it matters, and how you can protect yourself while supporting local, genuine honey producers.

What Is Honey Fraud?

Honey fraud involves any process that compromises the purity, quality, or origin of honey to mislead consumers and boost profits. Common forms of honey fraud include:

• Adulteration: Mixing real honey with cheap syrups (like rice, corn, or beet syrup) to reduce costs. These syrups mimic the appearance and taste of honey, but they lack honey’s nutritional benefits.
• Mislabelling: Marketing honey as being from a certain country, region, or floral source when it isn’t. “Country of origin” fraud is particularly problematic, as it can lead consumers to think they’re buying British honey when it may actually come from overseas.
• Substitution: Selling honey-flavoured syrup as honey or blending low-quality honey with high-quality honey to increase the volume.

Why Honey Fraud Is a Problem

1. Impact on Consumers: Fake or adulterated honey lacks the health benefits and quality of pure honey. People consuming these products miss out on the natural antioxidants, enzymes, and trace vitamins and minerals that come in genuine honey.
2. Harm to Ethical Beekeepers: Honey fraud undermines hardworking beekeepers who dedicate themselves to producing pure, natural honey. For UK beekeepers, honey fraud often means unfair competition with low-priced, imported honey that may not meet the same standards.
3. Environmental Concerns: Supporting local honey supports biodiversity, as beekeepers play a vital role in maintaining bee populations. When people unknowingly buy fraudulent honey, it takes support away from ethical, eco-friendly beekeepers and their bees.
4. Threat to Honey’s Cultural Value: High-quality honey varieties, like the UK’s renowned borage or heather honey, have distinct flavours, nutritional qualities, and seasonal ties. Honey fraud threatens these unique honeys’ integrity and the traditions surrounding them.

How to Identify Authentic Honey

While it can be challenging to tell real honey from fake, there are a few ways consumers can improve their chances of buying genuine honey:

• Check for Traceable Labels: Look for local honey with clear labeling, such as the name of the beekeeper, apiary location, or batch numbers.
• Support Local Beekeepers: Buying directly from beekeepers is one of the best ways to ensure authenticity. Farmers’ markets, local shops, or online stores run by beekeepers themselves are good options.
• Learn about Honey Sensory Analysis: Honey tasting, a skill that trained experts use to detect flavour notes, can be an indicator of quality. In the UK, the Honey Guild has started sensory analysis training to support and protect UK honey producers. Learning the nuances of flavour and texture can help you appreciate the unique qualities of authentic honey.

A recent Guardian article and investigations by the CleanUpTheHoneyMarket project have highlighted issues with honey authenticity in the UK. Honey fraud is a growing problem.

The Guardian reported that tests revealed alarming results: every sample of imported honey in the UK that was tested, failed authenticity standards. This suggests the widespread presence of adulterated or mislabeled honey in UK shops. This issue goes beyond individual brands, raising questions about the regulation of imported honey in the UK.

The YouTube channel CleanUpTheHoneyMarket has released a film that dives deeper into this fraud, exposing how certain brands exploit the lack of rigorous testing to sell honey that isn’t pure. Even more alarming was that the fraudsters have a special “UK grade” of “honey” that is lower than the rest of Europe because the testing of honey imported to the UK isn’t as rigorous as other countries.

If you’d like to get hold of some genuine honey, then take a look in our shop!

This year marks an exciting milestone for British beekeepers with the founding of the Honey Guild of the United Kingdom. As one of the founders, I’m thrilled to share a bit about our journey and what we’re striving to achieve. Our mission is clear: to champion high-quality honey from around the UK.

We launched the Guild this week with our first stand at the National Honey Show. We introduced ourselves to a community of fellow beekeepers and honey enthusiasts who share our passion for exceptional honey. This annual event brought together beekeepers and honey lovers from all over the country. It was the perfect venue to connect, exchange ideas, and introduce our initiative.

What Sets the Honey Guild Apart?

All of our founders have trained in Honey Sensory Analysis in Italy. We learned from experts in the Italian methods to identify and appreciate the diverse profiles of honey. We now apply these skills to analyze the unique kinds of honey in the UK, providing a deeper understanding of each honey’s flavour, aroma, and origin.

Our members are passionate learners, dedicated to exploring the characteristics that make each honey distinct. From rural fields of borage to heather moors to urban apiaries, each honey we study tells a story rooted in respect for bees, biodiversity, and the British landscapes from which they gather nectar.

Our Mission and Vision

The Guild was born out of a desire to raise the profile of UK honey and ensure that consumers have access to truly authentic products. With the rise of adulterated and imported honey, it’s more important than ever to support and recognize beekeepers dedicated to the highest standards of honey production. Through educational events, workshops, and tastings, we aim to build an informed community that understands the unique qualities of genuine British honey.

Looking Ahead

Our stall at the National Honey Show was just the beginning. We’re planning events, tastings, and certifications to help people explore the diverse flavours of real British honey, backed by the precision and care of trained Honey Sensory Analysts.

For those interested in learning more or joining the Guild, please look at our website and follow the Honey Guild UK on social media. Whether you’re a beekeeper or a honey lover, we welcome you to connect with us as we embark on this journey to celebrate and protect British honey and the bees that make it possible.

We are running some in-person and online honey tasting workshops over the next few months – booking is in our shop.

Happy National Honey Day! Today, we celebrate the golden treasure that bees gift us—honey. It’s a day to appreciate the work of beekeepers across the UK, raise awareness about the importance of supporting local bee populations, and enjoy the diversity of flavours that make UK honey so special. Whether you’re a long-time honey enthusiast or just discovering its wonders, here’s why National Honey Day matters and why you should consider buying honey directly from beekeepers rather than supermarkets.

Why National Honey Day is Important

Honey isn’t just a delicious natural sweetener—it’s the product of a vital ecological process. Bees play an essential role in pollination, helping plants grow, reproduce, and bear the fruits and vegetables we rely on. However, bee populations face numerous challenges, from habitat loss to pesticide use, making it more important than ever to support beekeepers who protect and nurture these essential pollinators.

National Honey Day shines a light on the hard work of beekeepers across the UK and encourages everyone to choose locally produced honey. By supporting beekeepers, you’re directly contributing to the preservation of bee colonies, local biodiversity, and the sustainability of our food systems.

Why You Should Buy from Beekeepers, Not Supermarkets

Supermarket shelves are often stocked with mass-produced honey that may lack the quality, flavour, and authenticity of local honey. Here’s why buying directly from beekeepers is a much better choice:

1. Purity and Authenticity
   Many supermarket honeys are blended from multiple sources and sometimes imported, which dilutes the unique qualities of regional honey. Local beekeepers provide pure, unprocessed honey, often straight from the hive. You’ll experience the true flavour of nature, untainted by additives or extensive processing.
2. Support for Local Beekeepers
   When you buy honey from a local beekeeper, you’re directly supporting the individuals who work tirelessly to care for their bees and protect the environment. Beekeepers often operate on a smaller scale than industrial producers, so your purchase helps them continue their vital work.
3. Traceability and Transparency
   Knowing exactly where your honey comes from is a huge benefit. When you buy from a beekeeper, you can often learn about the specific flowers and plants that contributed to the honey’s flavour profile and even visit the apiary. Supermarket honey, on the other hand, rarely offers this level of transparency.
4. Promotes Bee Health
   Local beekeepers prioritize the health and well-being of their bee colonies, often practising sustainable and ethical beekeeping. This contrasts with large-scale industrial operations that may focus more on profit than on the welfare of bees.

The Diversity of UK Honey

One of the greatest joys of buying honey directly from beekeepers is the opportunity to explore the rich diversity of UK honey. From the floral, herbal notes of borage honey to the deep, earthy flavours of woodland honey, UK honey varies greatly depending on the flowers and landscapes where the bees forage.

• This diversity is something you simply won’t find with mass-produced supermarket honey, where the flavours are blended to create a uniform taste. Buying from beekeepers allows you to experience the unique characteristics of honey from different regions and seasons.

Why Good Quality Honey is Expensive

Quality honey can be more expensive than supermarket honey, but for good reason. Here’s why:

1. The Beekeepers’ Commitment
   Local beekeepers invest a great deal of time and care into their hives. They tend to their bees year-round, ensuring the colonies are healthy and thriving, which is labour-intensive.
2. Seasonal and Limited Production
   Unlike industrial honey producers, local beekeepers harvest honey in harmony with nature, meaning that production is often seasonal and limited. Some honeys, like heather honey, are only available for a short period each year, making them more precious and exclusive.
3. Sustainability and Ethics
   Quality honey production is all about balance. Beekeepers ensure that enough honey is left for the bees to sustain themselves, particularly over the winter. This sustainable approach, while crucial for bee health, means beekeepers can only harvest what is ethically available, which can limit supply and increase prices.
4. Processing and Care
   High-quality honey is often raw and unprocessed, meaning it retains all its natural enzymes, antioxidants, and health benefits. Unlike heavily processed supermarket honey, raw honey requires careful handling to preserve its integrity, adding to the cost but enhancing the flavour and benefits.

Celebrate National Honey Day by Supporting Your Local Beekeeper!

On National Honey Day, let’s celebrate the incredible work of bees and the beekeepers who care for them. By choosing to buy honey directly from local beekeepers, you’re not just getting a better product—you’re making a conscious decision to support sustainability, protect our pollinators, and preserve the rich diversity of UK honey.

Happy National Honey Day!

Check out our shop to see what we have available now

Cut Comb: A Sweet, Natural Delight

As a beekeeper, I’m thrilled to offer one of the purest, most traditional forms of honey—cut comb. If you haven’t tried it before, you’re in for a real treat!

What is Cut Comb Honey?

Cut comb honey is exactly what it sounds like: honey is still in its comb. It’s harvested directly from the hive and cut into small sections. Unlike extracted honey, which is spun out of the comb, this product is enjoyed in its purest form—no processing or filtering. The comb itself is edible, adding a delightful chew to the experience.

What is Honeydew Cut Comb?

Honeydew honey is produced when bees collect sweet secretions from aphids or other plant-sucking insects rather than nectar from flowers. It is highly prized in continental Europe and we rarely get it from our London hives, This type of honey has a darker colour, richer taste, and a slightly thicker texture than traditional honey. Combined with cut comb, it offers an intriguing complexity that true honey connoisseurs will love.

How to Enjoy Cut Comb

The beauty of cut comb honey is in its versatility. Here are a few ideas to savour this natural delicacy:

• Spread on toast or crackers: The comb adds a delightful chewiness, while the honey bursts with natural sweetness.
• Pair with cheese: Cut comb honey pairs beautifully with sharp or soft cheeses, balancing savoury and sweet flavours.
• Add to salads or yoghurt: The combination of fresh greens or creamy yoghurt with honeycomb creates a delicious contrast in both texture and flavour.
• A spoonful on its own: Enjoy it straight from the spoon for a burst of raw, unfiltered goodness!

Why Cut Comb is Superior

Cut comb honey is considered a superior product for a few reasons:

1. It’s untouched and pure: Since it isn’t filtered or pasteurized, you’re getting honey straight from the hive with all its natural enzymes, pollen, and nutrients intact.
2. Beeswax benefits: The beeswax itself contains beneficial properties. Chewing the wax can help clean your teeth and stimulate saliva production, promoting oral health.

Incorporating cut comb honey into your life is a delicious way to enjoy honey in its rawest, most natural state. Whether you’re spreading it on toast, using it to elevate your cheese board, or simply savouring it straight from the comb, it’s a treat that connects you to the very essence of beekeeping. Give it a try today—you’ll taste the difference!

If you’d like to try it for yourself, take a look in our website shop.

You’ve probably heard that the NHS now recommend taking honey to ease nasty coughs. Lemon and honey is a classic natural combination that my mother used to make for us when we were unwell as children. We’ve decided to step it up a notch and ferment the mixture so that you get all the benefits of the traditional mix with the added bonus of fermentation – which apparently boosts gut health and it tastes great too.

Making it couldn’t be easier. You just need:

• An air-tight jar (we use a Kilner jar)
• Unwaxed lemons (I use 3)
• Some fabulous runny honey (I used a 340g jar)
• If you are feeling fancy – A cinnamon stick and or some cardamon seeds

Slice up the lemons thinly and put them into the jar, then add in the spices if you are using them. Next, pour in the honey over the lemons – you need to do this slowly to let any air bubbles come to the top. Make sure that the lemon slices are completely covered by the honey.

Put the jar somewhere where you won’t forget about it – each day you need to release the air out of the jar as fermentation takes place. Don’t worry if nothing much happens for a few days, it takes a while to get going.

After two weeks it’ll be ready. Store the mixture in the fridge, so that fermentation is slowed down. It’ll keep for several months.

You can take a teaspoon of the mixture whenever you need a boost, or you can stir a couple of spoons into some warm water (or something stronger!).

If you’d like to order some of our honey – please check out our shop

You may have seen a lot of things about Asian Hornets in the media recently. Last week was declared Asian Hornet Week in the UK by the National Bee Unit, to try and raise awareness. Unfortuantly, I’ve read quite a lot of things that aren’t true or are rather vague. I think that it’s important that people get the right facts, which is why I’ve written this blog post.

1. What do they look like?

They should not be confused with European hornets. They are a bit smaller than our native European hornets and have a distinctive black and yellow/orange striped abdomen. They are easy to identify because they have bright yellow legs.

2. Where have they suddenly come from?

An Asian hornet queen is thought to have arrived in France by accident in 2004. She was shipped in a delivery of pottery from China. She then established a nest in France. Since then the number of hornets over there has increased dramatically in most areas of the country, and other countries including Spain, Italy, Belgium and Jersey. The first Asian hornet was spotted in the UK in 2016. Since then there have been the odd hornet sighted and the odd nest discovered and destroyed. This year the number of nests discovered here has risen dramatically. At the time of writing 32 nests have been found and destroyed since June.

3. What should I do if I see one?

If you see one, then you need to try and take a photograph or video of it. You can then report it on the Asian Hornet Watch app. You can download the app for iPhone or Android. You can also report it on the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s online recording form. If it is confirmed as an Asian hornet then the National Bee Unit will follow it up and try and track down the nest nearby. If you spot a nest, then keep well away, but do report its location.

5. What else do I need to know?

If you want to know more about how they have spread in France, there is an excellent talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx3LhC2fnoc&t=4418s

If you are a beekeeper and want to know how European beekeepers have been trying to protect their colonies, this talk is very informative : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SNvrq7oNBY

You can keep up to date with the latest news from the National Bee Unit here : https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/about-us/beekeeping-news/2023-asian-hornet-rolling-updates/

Earlier this week I walked through this beautiful wood in Bedfordshire. It was a glorious sunny day – even a little warmth was in the air.

I don’t think that I’ve ever seen such an incredible display of snowdrops before. I’m a huge bluebell fan – and seeing snowdrops like this was a similar experience.

After some time I noticed something really weird. There were no bees! It was warm, there were flowers, but no bees… It was only when I flipped over one of the flowers that I realised why the bees were ignoring the supposedly plentiful forage.

All the flowers were “doubles” – meaning that each flower has more petals than the original “single” type. This makes the flower look more showy and arguably prettier, but it means that bees and other pollinators can’t easily access the pollen that they need at this time of the year. This stunning carpet of white is desert as far as bees are concerned.

Taking care to make good choices in the plants that we grow can have a big positive impact on bees. This is why we wrote our book – “80 Flowers for Bees” – it explains all this sort of thing.

Here are some pictures of a more traditional “single” snowdrop, so you can see the difference. The pollen is plentiful and easy for bees to access.

A few random snowdrop facts

• It is thought that snowdrops were introduced to the UK in the 16th century but weren’t seen growing wild until the end of the 18th century.
• There are more than 500 named varieties of snowdrops.
• Their name is thought to come from the pearl earrings that were popular in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• People who like snowdrops are known as Galanthophiles.

I’m an avid reader with rather an eclectic taste in books. This year I’ve read novels, biographies, beekeeping books and lots of architectural history books. Here’s a rundown of my favourite few – I’d be interested to hear what your favourites were this year – I generally find that my top books are usually recommended to me.

1. Wintering by Katherine May

I have to admit that I haven’t quite finished this one yet, but I really want to include it because it’s the perfect book to read at this time of the year. It focuses on how the season affects humans in different parts of the world and how we should see difficult times as personal winters. We are encouraged to slow down and simplify our lives during these darker times. This book is soothing like hot chocolate – I’ve been reading it just a few pages at a time and let the ideas swim around in my head for a while.

2. The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding

This book was highly recommended to me by a friend whose taste in books is similar to mine and it didn’t disappoint at all! In fact, it is probably my best book of the year. It is the biography of a summer house, built in the 1920s on the shore of a lake just outside Berlin. The book tracks the families who occupy the home right from when it was built, until the present day. Naturally, they are caught up in the Nazi regime, the second world war and its aftermath. I found the history absolutely fascinating and I learnt a great deal. Some of the stories are sad, some hair-raising and some hilarious – I really recommend it!

3. Beekeeping – Challenge What You Are Told by Roger Patterson

I attended a queen-rearing workshop run by Roger earlier this year. I came away full of practical bee knowledge, lots of ideas and new things to try. I know that Roger is sometimes seen as controversial in the bee world, but I loved his dry humour and generous sharing of knowledge. Following the workshop, I’ve read several of his books and they all are like having him talking to you. I’ve pulled this one out as a favourite because I think that it covers the most ground. In beekeeping there are so many myths and anecdotal “facts” – Roger demonstrates that many of these aren’t true and encourages the readers to not be afraid to test things out for themselves.

4. Grey Bees by Andrev Kurkov

This is a novel set in 2018 in the war zone between Russia and Ukraine. It is about a beekeeper and manages to be humorous and delightful in spite of the terrible circumstances. I’ve since gone on to read more of Kurkov’s novels, and I love them all. It was wonderful to discover a new favourite author this year.

5. Ten Poems about Bees introduced by Brigit Strawbridge Howard

This is only 20 pages long and was kindly gifted to me by a fellow beekeeper. It reminds me of how many people have been fascinated by bees for many thousands of years. The poems are a delight and it even comes with a matching bookmark. It’s perfect for dipping into while you have a cup of tea.

As I’ve been writing this, I’ve been thinking about all the other books that I’d like to include as well! It’s tricky to pick just 5, but I hope that you find a good range of things to inspire you here.

If you are interested to see what my 2021 favourite books were, the link is here

Transparency time – if you end up buying using the links in this post I will receive a tiny commission, at no extra cost to you.