-6 out of 18 samples found adulterated or misbranded FSSAI Standards testing-
The Association of Consumer Protection (ACP), an association of non-profit consumer organizations that is registered under NITI Aayog, Govt. of India to advance consumer interest through research, advocacy, education, and protection facilitated a study to conduct an investigation of adulteration of Honey in India. Honey samples of major brands were sent to five national and international laboratories and the results of the “purity tests” were declared today at a press conference held in Delhi.
Various samples of honey brands were sent to a renowned food testing laboratory in Germany (ILAC-MRA accredited), besides national laboratories like AES Laboratories (P) Ltd. (NABL and FSSAI notified lab), Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India; State Govt. Food Lab, Meerut, (Food Safety and Drug Administration, Uttar Pradesh, India); State Govt. Food Lab, Agra (Food Safety and Drug Administration, Uttar Pradesh, India); and Forest Lab, Delhi, India. Sealed samples of NMR-Certified brands Saffola, Dr. Morepen, Zandu Pure Honey, Nature’s Nectar and Dalmia were sent to the German lab for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) profiling. Samples of 2 out of these 5 brands were found to be adulterated in NMR testing. Zandu Pure Honey and Saffola honey were found to have added sugar syrup in honey, which they claim to be pure!
18 samples were also sent to four national laboratories for testing under key quality and adulteration parameters as per FSSAI. 6 out of these 18 samples of various brands were found adulterated or misbranded by FSSAI Standards. These include brands like Saffola Honey, Rasna Honey, Bharat Honey and Dalmia Utsav Honey.
Speaking on the test results, Dr. Sandeep Pahal, Advocate Supreme Court, Advisory, ACP said, “Today, brands have jumped onto the marketing gimmick of pure and organic as people have shifted their focus to eat clean. When brands that claim to be NMR compliant on their packs and advertising were subjected to Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) profiling, it revealed addition of sugar syrup in some of these brands. During COVID, we saw a huge demand for honey by consumers to increase their immunity. As the demand for honey increased, the adulteration has also increased. Honey is the third most adulterated food product after milk and ghee. It’s saddening to see that big brands are mixing sugar syrups like high fructose corn syrup and rice syrup having high fructose contents and selling it as pure honey. Adulteration is mass killing. In many countries adulteration is more heinous crime than murder.”