Honey is growing in popularity in Malaysia, however there have been reports that 80% of honey sold in Malaysia is fake. Some sellers also sold low grade honey of poor quality or artificial ones at high prices for profit.
Some of the sellers even made claims that they sell pure honey based various gimmicks and demonstrations - by the colour of it, fine bubbles on the top layer, and the 'pop' sound you hear when opening the bottle. When in fact, the authenticity of the honey can only be determined by scientific testing in the laboratory.
In Malaysia, it is an offence under Section 13B(2)(e) of the Food Act 1983 to prepare or sell any food that fails to comply with the standards or specifications as stipulated under the Food Act 1983. Those convicted can be fined RM20,000 or imprisoned for no more than five years, or both.
There has also been recent trends that there has been honey sold in the market that is adulterated with artificial ingredients and imported from China.
If fake honey is such an issue, how can Malaysians purchase pure and authentic honey?
How To Find Pure Honey in Malaysia
Switch to Local Brands
One way is to buy from reputable local honey brands in Malaysia. There are actually local honey bee farms in parts of Malaysia like Cameron Highlands and Pahang. Buying from these local Malaysian honey farms can ensure that you are purchasing real honey straight from the source. You can even visit the farms, check out the hives and taste the honey yourself. Furthermore, as these are smaller bee farms, their honeys are also less likely to contain chemicals and preservatives when processed.
Buy Certified Organic Honey
Another alternative is to buy certified organic honey. Being organically certified often requires a long list of criteria, whereby the bee farmers have to commit to organic farming, from farming to harvesting, processing and even packaging. Becoming an organic farm means that no GMOs, chemicals or preservatives are used throughout the whole process of developing the organic product. As this certification is also strictly regulated by an independent third party organic association, farms have to adhere by the rules which are based on international standards.
Furthermore, with this certification on the product label, consumers are able to verify the authenticity of the honey product with the organic association. Consumers are encouraged to learn more about their honey and appreciate what they are eating. This in turn creates more demand and education about the whole organic food movement.
Discover Certified Organic Honey in Malaysia
Here at Nature’s Glory Malaysia, we have a range of certified organic honeys like our organic honey products include our Organic Manuka Honey (Bioactive 15+), Organic Manuka XO Honey (Bioactive 30+), Organic Wilderness Honey, Organic Dew Honey and Organic Lemon Honey.
All our organic honeys are certified by NASAA and AgriQuality NZ (IFOAM Accredited) to international standards- you can find the certification logos on the individual product pages.
NASAA is one of the earliest organic certifying bodies in Australia and our products are independently audited by them. Our NASAA Certificate number is 8131P, and our honey production is strictly audited from harvest to bottling and until it is finally sold.
Look out for the NASAA logo on our product label and our certification number (8131P) for the validity of our certification. You can verify the certification on www.nasaa.com.au. The name of the company and the certification number must match and the dates on organic certificates should also be valid.
Our iFOAM certification also ensures the fair and orderly trade of organic products as certified by the AgriQuality NZ (now AsureQuality NZ) in New Zealand. Both certifications signify that we are committed to high international organic standards and customers should feel at ease when it comes to consuming our organic honeys.
Furthermore, our own Nature’s Glory’s products also do not contain any GMOs, chemicals, or artificial colours and flavourings. Our honeys are not adulterated with any fructose, sugar or corn syrup. Our honeys have little to no processing, such that our honeys retain all their beneficial compounds and nutrients that you can consume. Check out the rest of our Organic Honeys here.