Honey fraud: Markethill beekeeper laments World Beekeeping Award going on hold due to widespread bulking with sugar syrups

The World Beekeeping Awards have announced that there will not be any prizes for honey next year because of concerns about fraud in its global supply chain.

It will be the first time that awards for honey have been excluded from the event.

Apimondia - the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations - said in a statement that the change was "necessitated by the inability to have honey fully tested for adulteration" the BBC reported.

This decision comes after previous years' events proved that "adequate testing was impossible".

In March 2023, the European Commission found that 46% of sampled products (including all 10 samples from the UK) were suspected to be fraudulent - meaning they had likely been bulked out with cheaper sugar syrups.

Christine Marshall, 29, from Markethill keeps her own bees and sells her distinctive honey under her brand name, Marshall Beekeeping.

"It is disappointing to hear that the world beekeeping awards has decided not to have a honey category this year after deciding the category is rife with fraudulent produce," she told the News Letter.

"Unfortunately it is a well known fact globally that honey is a highly adulterated product in order to fill world demand.

"It is with great disappointment for beekeepers such as myself who work tirelessly to produce a high quality honey lose this opportunity.”

However she is optimistic about the future.

"To know there are others out there cheating the system doesn't sit right with me. However there have already been great advances in honey testing and I would expect to see the awards reinstated in the next few years, and of course Marshall Beekeeping will enter at that time."

She currently works part-time in retail but full-time in developing her business.

She sells her produce direct at markets throughout Northern Ireland but also has an online shop selling to the UK and Republic of Ireland.

"My honey differs from mass produced honey because it is not adulterated, mixed, pasteurised or treated in any way. I work sustainably whilst growing in size."

Christine also takes a natural approach to treating pests as far as possible, especially Varroa mites.

Her honey has such a distinctive taste that she thrives on the positive feedback it gets from customers.

"Honey will have a change in taste based on the nearby plants that bees forage on. I have hives in Tandragee and Markethill and the output in honey is different between the two.

"I have had numerous people say they don't like honey but once they taste mine they say they like it.

"I have also had people say they prefer my honey over mass produced honey. I always appreciate their opinion."

Her interest in beekeeping began in 2020 while travelling abroad.

In August this year scientists at Cranfield University said that they had found a way to detect fake honey products without opening the jar.

It may be too late to impact on the World Beekeeping Awards at the 2025 Congress, though organisers say it still planned to celebrate honey in many ways.

For more information see: www.marshallbeekeeping.com/