20/09/2023
Here are a few tips to protect you and your family from adulterated honey;
1. Start Small: Before you commit to a particular honey vendor, begin by purchasing a small quantity, say a quarter kg.
2. Home Tests: Do some simple tests at home to determine the authenticity of the honey. (Please note that these methods are not always foolproof but they will definitely detect fake honey).
This is how you test honey at home;
a) Visual Inspection:
Train your eye to detect real honey;
·Real honey is Consistent, it tends to be thick and flows slowly, forming a cohesive stream. If honey appears to be too watery or flows too quickly, it is adulterated.
· The Colour. Honey can vary in colour, but pure honey typically ranges from pale yellow to dark amber, depending on the type of flowers the bees visited, or the flowers in season.
b) Taste and Smell:
· Pure honey usually has a distinct and pleasant smell; it should be sweet with a subtle floral or herbal taste. If it has some off-putting smell or tastes strange, it may not be pure. If you miss the peculiar taste and smell of honey, you have been duped.
c) Water Dissolving Test:
· This is perhaps the simplest home test. Add a teaspoon of honey to a glass of water. Pure honey will settle at the bottom and not easily dissolve in water. If it dissolves quickly or forms a cloudy mixture, it is adulterated.
d) Paper Test:
· Another simple test. Place a drop of honey on a piece of paper. Pure honey should not be absorbed quickly, and it should not leave a wet ring or residue on the paper. If it soaks into the paper or leaves a wet mark, it is adulterated.
e) Crystallization:
· I have seen this conversation here severally. Please note that over time, honey tends to crystallize, forming sugar crystals. This is a natural process and tends to happen in cold seasons. However, some adulterated honey will have unusual crystallization patterns or may not crystallize at all.
f) Finally, Your Vendor;
· Consider purchasing your honey from reputable vendors, who have passed the test of time. I advise fellow honey vendors and even owners of restaurants to always test their honey at Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) laboratories.
Finally, please don't give up on honey, we still have some genuine vendors who go the extra mile to bring you the real thing. We do not always make big profit margins, but we sleep well knowing that our clients are consuming the real thing.
Thanks for reading up to this far 😊
