CFIA Reports This Week that Canadian Honey Passes the Test
July 11, 2019
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) released its honey authenticity surveillance report this week for 2018 and 2019.
The good news is that all domestic samples tested were satisfactory. All of the unsatisfactory results were from samples of imported honey, showing the presence of added sugars.
From the Report:
In recent years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has become aware of the risk that the adulteration of honey with foreign sugars has increased, both in Canada and globally. Adulteration occurs when other ingredients are mixed into a food and yet the food is represented as being genuine honey. Honey that has been deliberately adulterated is considered food fraud, which deceives consumers about what they are buying and creates an unfair market for those selling authentic honey.
All foods in Canada, including honey, must be safe for consumption and truthfully represented. In order to best address and respond to the risk of honey adulteration in the Canadian market, in 2018 to 2019 CFIA undertook a targeted surveillance strategy. The objectives of this strategy were to better understand the prevalence of honey adulteration, take control and enforcement action on instances of non-compliance, and generate data and information to refine future compliance and enforcement activities.
