Fake "earth honey": the cost of boiling sugar, essence and alum is only a few yuan per catty, and long-term consumption may damage the reproductive system

　　Red Star News reporter Jiang Long

　　On the side of the road, some so-called "beekeepers" openly sell "pure natural honey" or "earth honey". Have you ever seen such a scene?

Are these so-called "natural honey" real?

not necessarily!

　　Recently, with the assistance of the police, the market supervision department of the Eastern District of Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province, seized a fake honey production den that fled to Panzhihua from other places, and seized more than 100 kilograms of fake "earth honey".

The method of deception is very simple: add sugar, corn flour, edible essence, etc. to boil with water, and a bottle of "earth honey" that is fake and genuine can be made in the hotel.

　　In fact, similar honey fraud cases occur frequently.

Red Star journalists combed through dozens of public judgments and found that the methods of honey counterfeiting are similar.

The cost of fake honey is only a few yuan per catty, and it can be said to be tens of yuan per catty, which can be described as huge profits.

　　The court's judgment mentioned many times that there is a large amount of aluminum residue in fake honey, and long-term and large-scale consumption will cause physical damage, causing chronic toxic damage to the nervous system, skeletal system, and reproductive system of the human body to multiple systems and organs.

Judging from the cases that have been judged, most of these counterfeiters have only elementary school or junior high school education, and were sentenced for the crime of producing and selling food that did not meet safety standards or fraud.

　　-- latest cases--

　　Boil fake honey in the hotel

　　Pretend to be electrician selling 'wild honey'

　　On February 7, the Red Star News reporter learned from the relevant departments of Panzhihua East District, Sichuan that the Market Supervision Bureau of the Eastern District of the city, in cooperation with the district public security department, seized a fake honey production den in a hotel room under its jurisdiction, and seized 100 pieces of fake "earth honey" on the spot. More than kilograms, as well as a large number of raw materials and tools used to make fake honey.

　　After investigation, the two brothers of Chen, the party concerned, are both from Hunan. They fled from Xichang to Panzhihua, and rented two rooms in a hotel near Renmin Street in the East District to make fake "soil honey". The tools for making fake honey are only 2 red plastic buckets and 2 quick heat (heating sticks).

　　After packing the fake honey in food bags, the party put on a green electrician bag, pretended to be an electrician, and claimed that he found wild honey while repairing wires on the mountain, and sold it at a price lower than the market price.

　　After sampling testing, the above-mentioned fake honey did not meet the technical requirements of the "National Food Safety Standard for Honey" (GB 14963-2011) and was judged to be unqualified.

As of the time of the seizure, Chen's two brothers had produced more than 200 kilograms of fake honey and made a profit of 1,020 yuan.

At present, the law enforcement officers have completed the investigation and evidence collection of the case, and plan to impose administrative penalties on the two Chen brothers.

　　——Background interests——

　　The cost per catty is only a few yuan

　　Use white sugar, alum, essence, etc. to boil

　　In fact, cases of honey fraud are not uncommon.

A reporter from Red Star News combed through dozens of public cases reported on the Internet and media reports of Chinese referee documents and found that the methods of honey counterfeiting are similar, and most of them are white sugar, alum, honey essence and other raw materials boiled into "honey" in a certain proportion.

　　In December 2022, the Hantai District Court of Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province publicly heard a case of manufacturing and selling fake honey. Du Moumou and 8 people were sentenced to more than one year in prison and fined for producing and selling food that did not meet safety standards. .

　　In June 2018, Liu from Lichuan City, Hubei Province used tap water, white sugar, alum, etc. to produce and process 438 catties of this kind of "honey", sold 30 catties to the outside world, and received a payment of 225 yuan.

In the end, Liu was sentenced to one year in prison for producing and selling fake honey, suspended for one year and six months, and fined RMB 2,000.

　　From the analysis of the cases that have been judged, most of these counterfeiters have a low education level, only elementary school and junior high school education, and their legal awareness is weak.

Sentenced and fined for the crime of producing and selling food that does not meet safety standards or fraud, and most defendants are subject to probation.

　　The Red Star News reporter noticed that at present, authentic honey on the market sells for tens of yuan per catty.

The production cost of fake honey is only a few yuan per catty, and it can be sold as tens of yuan per catty if it is disguised as real honey, which can be described as huge profits.

The defendant in one case confessed that the cost price of the fake honey they produced was 3 yuan per catty, and they were sold at 8 to 30 yuan per catty.

　　—— HEALTH RISKS ——

　　Large amounts of aluminum residues in fake honey

　　chronic damage to the human body

　　It is worth noting that, judging from the published cases, they all mentioned the hazards of fake honey. The addition of alum will lead to a large amount of aluminum residue, and aluminum will cause chronic damage to human health.

　　In September 2022, the police in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province cracked a case of fake honey. On the spot, a bag of white powdery objects and two bottles of prepared suspected honey were found from the items carried by the eight defendants.

The white powdery object was detected as alum, and the suspected honey was tested. The aluminum residues were 158.09mg/kg and 197.285mg/kg respectively, seriously exceeding the standard.

　　In December 2022, a second-instance criminal ruling issued by the Chongqing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court mentioned that after testing by the Chongqing Food and Drug Inspection and Testing Institute, the residual amount of aluminum in the alum seized from Chen Moumou and Yi Moumou was The aluminum residues in the two fake honeys were 95.3mg/kg and 62.3mg/kg respectively.

According to the identification of the Ministry of Agriculture's agricultural product storage and preservation quality and safety risk assessment laboratory (Chongqing), the above-mentioned seized fake honey contains toxic and harmful substances (aluminum) that can cause serious food-borne diseases.

　　In May 2018, a judgment issued by the People's Court of Lichuan City, Hubei Province showed that the Food and Drug Administration of Lichuan City determined that the fake honey produced and sold by Liu Moumou contained 157mg/kg of aluminum, which did not meet food safety standards and was poisonous. Harmful enough to cause severe food poisoning incidents or other serious foodborne illness.

Experts have identified that aluminum is a low-toxic metal and is a substance that is harmful to human health.

　　The judgment mentioned that aluminum is one of the poisonous and harmful substances that cause chronic damage to human health. Chronic toxic damage to multiple systems and organs.

　　In the judgments of many fake honey cases, the court held that fake honey food that did not meet food safety standards was enough to cause serious food poisoning and serious food-borne diseases.

Relevant staff from the Food and Drug Administration of Hantai District, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province once said, "Fake honey is boiled with white sugar, water, and alum. After people take it, it will cause harm to the nervous system, and it is easy to get Alzheimer's and amnesia." .”

　　The judgment also mentioned that according to the country's "National Standards for Food Safety, Standards for the Use of Food Additives", alum is a type of food additive that is allowed to be used and can only be used in soy products, batter, fried noodle products, shrimp flavored chips, baked food, Pickled aquatic products (only jellyfish).

Therefore, the use of alum in the fake honey submitted for inspection is an excessive use of food additives, which is a food that is prohibited from production and operation.

(Red Star News)