Honey sold by several major brands in India has been found adulterated with sugar syrup, the environment watchdog CSE claimed Wednesday. An investigation by the Centre of Science and Environment, released in Delhi on December 2, has revealed nefarious adulteration in honey designed to bypass purity tests in India and massive implications for the health of Indians. They found 77 percent of the samples adulterated with the addition of sugar syrup. Out of the 22 samples checked, only five passed all the tests.
“Honey samples from leading brands such as Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu, Hitkari and Apis Himalaya, all failed the NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) test,” the study said.
Honey can be a wonderful alternative to your refined sugar which is just a source of empty calories. This lovely ingredient made by nature can not only sweeten your life but it is also abundant in minerals, nutrients, and living enzymes. A lot of benefits can go away during the production stage if it goes through adulteration and tampering. Beware, even if the label reads ‘organic’ or ‘natural’, chances run high that the honey might not be as safe as it should be! People can tamper with its quality by adding simple solvents like sugar, corn starch, glucose solution, or food colouring.
Here are steps to check whether your honey is pure or adulterated:
The Thumb Test
A simple test to check the purity of honey. Put a small drop of the honey on your thumbnail. Check if it spills or spreads. If it spreads, then the honey is impure since pure honey will stay intact on your thumb.
The Water Test
This is a test using water to spot impure honey. Simply fill a glass of water and add a teaspoon of honey into the glass. Adulterated or impure honey will easily dissolve in water and you will see it around the glass. On the other hand, original honey will settle right at the bottom of the glass.
The Flame Test
Pure honey is flammable and to check if the honey is 100 % pure, try this test! Start by taking a matchstick and dip the tip of the matchstick with honey. Strike the matchstick on the matchbox to see if it lights. If the honey is pure then the matchstick will easily light up and the honey will keep burning. But if the honey is impure it will not light up as it contains moisture.
The Blot test
A test to see if the honey is diluted with water using a blotting paper. Put a few drops of honey on a blotting paper. It may be absorbed or leave a wet mark on the paper. Both pure and impure honey will not be absorbed but impure honey will leave a wet mark.
