‘Honey sold in domestic market not pure and contains sugar-mixed ingredients’

NASHIK: B L Sarswat, the executive director of the National Bee Board, was in the city recently to organise a seminar on Awareness, motivation, and technology transfer for development of beekeeping in Maharashtra. The National Bee Board is a part of the department of agriculture and cooperation, Government of India. 

Addressing the gathering, Sarswat said, "There is a need to promote beekeeping in the country. The honey sold in domestic markets today is not pure and contains sugar-mixed ingredients. Exported honey is the only pure form available as it is tested as per parameters set by the importing countries. Even honey sold by leading companies contains only 10% total honey, while honey sold by a well-known trust run by a yoga guru contains only 1% honey." 

Speaking to TOI, he said, "We don't have a lab in the country to test honey. We had requested the government to provide us with one, but it could not work out. Now, we are preparing a fresh proposal to set up a testing laboratory for honey, which will be submitted once more to the ministry of agriculture for approval. The testing lab is estimated to cost Rs 25 crore. It is also shocking that the country don't have a lab to test honey. 

He further said, "The honey production in the country is 75,000 metric tonnes, of which 35,000 metric tonnes of honey is exported. Today, the country needs 2,000 lakh colonies of beekeeping, but we have have only 18 lakh colonies for beekeeping. It will take 10 to 15 years if we decide to meet this target and it will generate employment for around 2.15 crore people. But we need an investment of Rs 800 to 1,000 crore every five years. We will soon approach the government to allot funds to the NBB for this purpose." 

A spokesperson from one of the leading honey manufacturers in the country said, "It is the Food Safety Standard Authority of India that makes regulations for honey. These regulations are stringent as compared to that in foreign countries. Moreover, the Consumer Voice, which is a body under the ministry of consumers, Government of India, in a report published this month stated our company's honey as superior." 

Chandrakant Pawar the joint commissioner (Nashik division) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said, "We monitor quality of food items as prescribed under the Food Safety Standard Act. There have been strict standards for food items sold in the market. So, I don't think that honey sold by these companies in the domestic market is impure. However, we will collect samples from the market and send them to the laboratory for testing to verify the truth."