As reported yesterday, Australian honey has taken the spotlight after an international report claims that Aussie made honey contains the most poison in the world! But the Aussie beekeepers have something to say about this claim.
A quick wrap up of the story just in case you missed out. An international research paper published in the Food Additives and Contaminants Journal found that nearly 70% of Australian made honey contained traces of plant toxins that can be poisonous. But since this claim was announced a few days ago, the Australian Honeybee Industry Council claims that the samples used were collected from 2008 to 2012, making their research outdated. Trevor Whitehead of the Australian Honeybee Industry Council says that the Patterson’s Curse (the name given to the honey that contains the plant toxin) is rare to find nowadays since the improvement of biological control program that’s been put in place to get rid of the toxin.
Furthermore, Jodie Goldsworthy of the Victorian honey company Beechworth Honey says that the research paper “overstates consumption of honey and underestimates body weight, creating a really misleading conclusion that’s really out of touch with reality.” She also states it is unfair that the report does not validate the authenticity of the honey – a large portion of produced in countries like China is adulterated with sugar syrup.
Does this set your mind at ease with Australian honey? Or does it leave you with more questions? It is a bit of both for me…
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