Study: Real honey sales figures in Latvia not sweet at all

After testing 20 honey samples purchased in Latvian supermarkets in Jelgava, Jūrmala and Rīga, it was found that only six of them meet the standard for authentic honey, the Latvian Beekeeping Society (LBB) said January 28.

The honey was tested in the Estonian laboratory Celvia CC AS.

LBB Chairman Valters Brusbārdis pointed out that Latvian beekeeping has been in crisis for several years and that a similar situation can be observed in other European Union (EU) countries:

"The EU is showing weakness in beekeeping. It is absurd that today it is difficult for a Latvian or EU beekeeper to sell authentic honey whereas consumers can buy 'honey' in a shop that is described by a laboratory as 'not authentic'! Beekeepers cannot compete with the falsification of honey."

Brusbārdis drew attention to the fact that the wholesale purchase price of authentic honey is very low and it is difficult to sell the honey produced for export and on the domestic market. At the same time, Latvian beekeepers can produce quality honey in quantities that exceed the country's internal consumption.

"The crisis is caused by an unfair business environment on the EU honey market and imports of cheap 'honey' from third countries. This is also being highlighted in Latvia," said the LBB Chairman, calling on the public administration to protect local honey producers and ensure fair trade in authentic honey in Latvia and the EU.

As LBB explained, the most legally precise definition of authentic honey is given in the EU Council Directive on honey:

"Honey is the natural sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant-sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in honeycombs to ripen and mature."

The molecular method for authenticating honey is new, but it is not only offered by Estonian laboratories. The Austrian laboratory Sinsoma also uses a similar method to authenticate honey.

"Authentic honey produced in the nest of a bee colony is not sterile. Honey can contain DNA from bees, plant pollen, bee pathogens, bee pests, and microscopic fungi. Authentic honey is characterized by the particular set of DNA it carries," explained the LBB.

The LBB has issued a call to the public administration to prevent Latvian outlets from selling products labeled as "honey" when they are not authentic and do not comply with EU Council Directive 2001/110/EC, and to advocate and promote a more orderly business environment for the honey market in the EU.

In the meantime, the Society urged people to choose real Latvian honey - authentic honey labeled with Latvia as the country of origin.

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