Capilano's U-turn on honey testing following backlash

Australia’s largest honey manufacturer Capilano's Allowrie has announced it will fund a testing facility for its honey after it was accused of selling “fake” honey that was mixed with sugar syrups.

The move comes hot on the heels of the manufacturer responding to criticism of the claim its imported honey was not pure by saying Australian regulators “do not use this testing regime at all”.

The company is now planning to fund a new test facility for honey in Australia that uses the NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resolution) regime compared to Australian-standard C3 and C4 sugar tests.

“Even though Capilano has a testing regime that is internationally recognised, we can see the added benefit of investing in new testing regimes to continue to maintain the confidence of consumers and the Australian honey industry,” said Capilano managing director Ben McKee.

“We have commenced discussions with the Cooperative Research Centre for Honey Bee Products and most importantly the University of Sunshine Coast, who currently have NMR capability, to establish an independent honey testing facility.

“We have also held discussions with the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council Executive Director and Chairman to ensure such a facility meets its needs.”

Capilano also said that it would be re-testing all of its imported honey products following claims that 12 of 28 samples tested by Germany’s Quality Services International lab using the NMR method were not 100 per cent honey.

Sheridan Randall, 7^th September 2018