{"id":44019,"date":"2025-12-04T14:52:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T14:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=44019"},"modified":"2025-12-04T14:52:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T14:52:59","slug":"south-africa-crackdown-fake-honey-spot-the-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2025\/12\/04\/south-africa-crackdown-fake-honey-spot-the-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa cracks down on fake honey: Here\u2019s how to spot the fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Department of Agriculture and the South Africa Police Service have been conducting a massive fake honey crackdown in the Eastern Cape, targeting fraudulent and incorrectly labelled products.<\/p>\n<p>Taking place in the Buffalo City Metro Municipality, this joint operation \u2013 backed by the Agricultural Product Standards Act of 1990 (Act 119 of 1990) \u2013 aims to \u201csafeguard real producers, protect market integrity, and shield consumers from misleading, harmful items\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The department said it was \u201cdead serious\u201d about dealing with fake honey but to its relief had already found some retailers selling authentic honey.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DRwezj_CDVo\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p>Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has previously warned that incorrectly labelled products can compromise the health of vulnerable communities, particularly diabetics, who purchase them believing they are beneficial.<\/p>\n<p>Globally, honey is the third most targeted product for fraud and adulteration, reflecting a worldwide surge in questionable product volumes. South Africa\u2019s high demand, coupled with its status as a net importer, ensures poor-quality and adulterated honey often finds its way onto shelves, according to the University of Cape Town.<\/p>\n<p>The department\u2019s directorate for inspection services conducts enforcement work under the APS Act. It has warned that consumers must remain vigilant, as \u201choney-based syrup\u201d is simply syrup pretending to be honey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGenuine honey is 100% pure honey,\u201d says the department.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-spot-fake-honey\">How to spot fake honey<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Check the label:<\/strong> If the product says \u201cblend\u201d or <strong>\u201c<\/strong>honey-based syrup,\u201d skip it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Texture test:<\/strong> Authentic honey is generally thick and flows slowly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spoon test:<\/strong> Real honey tends to stick, while counterfeit syrup products often drip immediately.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Price check:<\/strong> Extremely cheap pricing usually serves as a clear indicator of a fake product.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Buy trusted brands:<\/strong> Support genuine beekeepers to safeguard the market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">[Today\ud83d\udccd] Spot the Fake. Protect the Real. \ud83c\udf6f \ud83d\udc1d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DOAgov_ZA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@DOAgov_ZA<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SAPoliceService?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@SAPoliceService<\/a> are on the ground in East London, Eastern Cape, in a joint operation to shut down fake honey and syrups posing as the real thing.<\/p>\n<p>South Africans deserve pure, honest honey, and we\u2019re making sure\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PgJui7cKsO\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/PgJui7cKsO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 National Department of Agriculture (@DOAgov_ZA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DOAgov_ZA\/status\/1995793599116583038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">December 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-department-of-agriculture-s-ongoing-battle-against-fake-honey\">Department of Agriculture\u2019s ongoing battle against fake honey<\/h2>\n<p>This late current crackdown on fake honey follows a significant operation in Gauteng in late 2024, where the Department of Agriculture and law-enforcement authorities seized 1,059 containers of \u201choney-based\u201d syrups and 388 non-compliant honey products.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Steenhuisen warned that seizures would be expanded to other provinces to ensure citizens get the quality goods they intended to purchase. <\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-economic-sweet-spot\">Economic sweet spot<\/h3>\n<p>The integrity of the local honey market is critical, as the industry forms a vital pillar of agriculture and the economy. The silent labour of honeybees underpins national food security, with bee pollination contributing more than R10 billion every year to SA agriculture.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, real South African honey has demonstrated therapeutic potential as antimicrobial agents and is being investigated for potential use in complex wound treatment.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Category<\/th>\n<th>Metric<\/th>\n<th>Economic Impact \/ Figures<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Pollination Value<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Annual Contribution to SA Agriculture<\/td>\n<td>R10 billion per year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Local Production<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Annual Domestic Yield<\/td>\n<td>Up to 2,500 tonnes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Local Demand<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Domestic Consumption<\/td>\n<td>Nearly double production<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Imports<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Market Share (2021)<\/td>\n<td>86% of SA market met by imports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Primary Import Source<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Percentage from China<\/td>\n<td>More than 80% of natural honey imports<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Beekeeping is also highlighted as a low-capital entry point for youth, women, and rural entrepreneurs, generating income from hive products like honey, beeswax and propolis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#South #Africa #cracks #fake #honey #Heres #spot #fraud<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Agriculture and the South Africa Police Service have been conducting a massive fake honey crackdown in the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44019"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44021,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44019\/revisions\/44021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}