When Honey Isn’t Honey

According to a recent study conducted by Foodsafetynews.com more than 3/4 of the honey sold in popular stores like TOP Food, Safeway, Giant Eagle, QFC, Kroger, Metro Market, Harris Teeter, A&P, Stop & Shop and King Soopers contain no pollen.

The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled “honey.” The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world’s food safety agencies.

The food safety divisions of the World Health Organization, the European Commission and dozens of others also have ruled that without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources.

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A list of the honey tested by Food Safety News that showed no traces of pollen. Analysis showed that the absence of pollen was consistent regardless of the
size of the jar. In some cases, the stores where the honey was purchased are not listed because the same brands can be found in many different outlets.

• American Choice Clover Honey
• Archer Farms Orange Blossom Honey
• Archer Farms Organic Classic Honey
• Busy Bee Organic Honey
• Busy Bee, Pure Clover Honey
• CVS Honey
• Fred Meyer Clover Honey
• Full Circle Pure Honey
• Giant Eagle Clover Honey
• GE Clover Honey
• Great Value, Clover Honey
• Haggen Honey, Natural & Pure
• HT Traders Tupelo Honey
• Kroger Pure Clover Honey
• Market Pantry Pure Honey
• Mel-o 100 % Pure Honey
• Natural Sue Bee Clover Honey
• Naturally Preferred Fireweed Honey
• Rite Aid Honey
• Safeway Clover Honey
• Silver Bow Pure Honey
• Stop and Shop Clove Honey
• Sue Bee Clover Honey
• Thrifty Bee Honey
• Valutime Honey
• Walgreen MEL-O honey
• Western Family Clover Honey
• Wegman Clover Honey
• Winnie the Pooh, Pure Clover