The bee, not the brand — India needs to bet its money on the right honey

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In 1974, ABBA sang, “Honey honey, don’t conceal it, a-ha, honey honey”. Many a long time later, Indian media found what was actually hid within the honey — Chinese language sugar. The Centre for Science and Surroundings or CSE meals researchers have found that almost all honey bought within the Indian market is adulterated. Some have referred to as this India’s ‘Honeygate’. Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu have all reportedly failed the purity check.

This comes at a time when India is utilizing copious amounts of honey and concoctions made with it to push back the novel coronavirus. However one thing else ticked off the CSE to launch an investigation — why have been honey farmers in north India reporting an enormous dip in profits when the gross sales of honey had hit the roof?

The CSE has alleged that Indian honey firms had designed their merchandise to move the rules laid down by the Meals Security and Requirements Authority of India (FSSAI), nevertheless it was a German lab that noticed by means of the tinkering with sugar syrup. The manufacturers have rejected the findings and called it an try to malign them.

What’s extra, even the bees aren’t having it simple because the world desperately tries to maintain a number of species from going extinct. If bees exit of enterprise, part of our meals chain collapses.

And that’s why honey, the golden liquid, is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week.

Additionally learn: ‘Chinese sugar’ found in Indian honey, Dabur, Patanjali call CSE report ‘bid to malign’ brands

India is ‘honey trapped’

‘Immunity’ — that’s the phrase that noticed a 350 per cent enhance in Google searches throughout the lockdown. And when Indians consider immunity, honey options within the high hits. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi batted for the AYUSH ministry’s house cures in coronavirus season, which included honey-pepper. However what if we’re consuming sugar within the identify of honey?

‘Nuclear Magnetic Resonance’ — that’s the phrase that not many in India are googling. It’s what reportedly caught the honey adulteration that handed by means of undetected in Indian checks. It identifies modified sugar syrups. Out of the 13 manufacturers examined, solely three — Saffola, MarkfedSohna and Nature’s Nectar — handed this check achieved by the German lab.

Now, many will say the check of purity is when honey doesn’t freeze or crystallise within the fridge or in winter. Frankly, many of the honey in my kitchen cabinet have crystals.

So, how did the manufacturers move the FSSAI checks referred to as C3 and C4? China has created a number of sugar syrups that go undetected in checks. You possibly can purchase them off Alibaba and different websites, and import them to India, some labelled as ‘paint’ to go below the radar. In Indian markets, these sugars have been referred to as ‘All Cross’. Learn this deep dive in Down To Earth.

The last decade earlier than this was crowded with tales of what actually goes into bottles of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. That led the CSE to blink. Reports of pesticides within the Indian drinks and extra toxins than within the drinks of the developed world have been heaped on the cola giants. In 2012, Ramdev accused the drinks of being ‘rest room cleaners’ — a narrative that caught. Now Patanjali and its honey are on the CSE’s radar.

“It’s a meals fraud extra nefarious and extra refined than what we present in our 2003 and 2006 investigations into gentle drinks; extra damaging to our well being than maybe something that now we have discovered until now — preserving in thoughts the truth that we’re nonetheless preventing in opposition to a killer Covid-19 pandemic with our backs to the wall. This overuse of sugar in our weight-reduction plan will make it worse,” CSE’s Sunita Narain told Business Today.

The CSE realised that uncooked honey adulterated to even 50 per cent of the content material handed the Indian checks. On 1 August this yr, India made the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance check necessary for all honey exports — certainly one thing was up.

“The current stories appear motivated and aimed toward maligning our model. We guarantee our shoppers that Dabur Honey is 100% Pure. It’s 100% indigenous, collected naturally from Indian sources and filled with no added sugar or different adulterants,” a Dabur spokesperson told ThePrint. Dabur has additionally stated that its honey pattern had certainly handed an earlier NMR check. Others stated it was an try to decrease market share of Indian honey.

The Indian Categorical reported that in accordance with information from the National Bee Board, India exported 1.05 lakh metric tonnes of honey in 2017-18, a 200 per cent leap in 12 years. The federal government additionally provides a substantial sum to bee farming.

Honey is without doubt one of the most adulterated meals merchandise on the planet. But it surely’s time to place our cash the place the honey’s at. As a result of buzz of adulteration gained’t sit properly with honey shoppers. And devour now we have, since time immemorial.

Additionally learn: Greater quality checks soon on milk, edible oil, honey, meat & poultry, says FSSAI new CEO

Land of milk and honey

The Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh have prehistoric cave work that present folks breaking beehives shaped on rocks. T.Okay. Acharya, the go-to individual on the subject of India’s meals historical past, writes that these work might be dated to six,000 BC. Honey was additionally an everyday in Harappan kitchens, usually tossed with puffed rice or flax seeds.

The Rigveda factors to Indians cultivating honey from synthetic hives made for bees. One hymn (187) goes like this: “O candy meals, honeyed meals, now we have chosen for you: for us be a helper” (Feasts and Fasts, Colleen Taylor Sen). The Mahabharata has references to beekeepers — suggesting that honey was fairly a commodity by then. It additionally has references to feasts of meat curries effervescent in ghee with honey and fruits on the aspect.

After we have been rising up, we have been advised tales of Sundarban’s honey farmers who would go into the dense swamps to gather forest honey. They’d go in teams, sing to push back predators, carry sticks, and put on a tiger masks on the again of their heads. Why? As a result of a tiger assaults when you’re not trying. So a pair of eyes behind your head was vital.

It’s the forest produce or small farmers and beekeepers that most individuals in India are actually turning to after allegations of adulteration in industrial manufacturers. The FSSAI has announced that it’s trying into the CSE’s findings.

The bees aren’t ready.

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