A representative of a food company who mixed high-fructose sugar known as 'syrup' with honey and sold it as '100% honey' was arrested.



The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said that Mr. Lee, the CEO of 'A Agricultural Product' in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, who manufactured and sold honey products by mixing high-fructose sugar (isomerized sugar), which should not be added to honey, was arrested and sent to the prosecution on charges of violating the Food Sanitation Act. work was revealed.



As a result of the investigative agency's investigation, Lee mixed cheap liquid fructose with honey purchased from beekeepers from January 2019 to April this year, and then paid 1.45 billion won to 26 distributors and one food manufacturing/processing company. accused of selling.



According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Mr. Lee mixed 56 tons (t) of honey with high-fructose corn syrup and increased the weight to 227 tons (t), more than four times.



Honey costs 6,000 to 9,000 won per 1 kg, but high-fructose corn syrup costs 500 to 600 won per 1 kg, which is less than 1/10.



Mr. Lee sold honey with high fructose corn syrup labeled as '100% honey' as if it were a natural honey product.



The current Food Sanitation Act prohibits mixing honey with other additives, such as pollen, royal jelly, sugars, and sweeteners, to prevent artificially increasing the weight of honey.



On the other hand, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which launched an investigation after receiving a public interest tip that 'honey produced by 'Agricultural Product' is suspected of being fake', revealed that Mr. Lee did not write food transaction records and only traded with cash when purchasing raw materials and selling products. .



The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety believes that Mr. Lee tried to cover up the crime by destroying evidence so that the details of manufacturing and sales of the product could not be confirmed.



In addition, it was revealed that 'A Farming' had been caught by the food authorities for manufacturing fake honey with sugar, etc. even before Mr. Lee took over as CEO.



The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said, "We will strengthen investigations into illegal activities that deceive the public or threaten public health." differ," he asked.



Enlarge Image