Honey Fraud : Sweet nothings — how South Africans are stung by ‘honey laundering’
Daily Maveric TGIFOOD - 19th Of July 2024.
A recent article published by the Daily Maverick, written by Dr Janais Delport (a PhD graduate from the UCT who specialises in melissopalynology, the study of pollen and spores in honey), highlights what happens in South Africa around fake ‘honey’, the work of ‘honey fraudsters’ that often contains no actual honey at all. The fake products fly off the supermarket shelves , while the real deal is often ignored. Click on the link to the article, and others previoulsy featured in the Daily Maveric over the years on the same issue of Fake Honey to get a better understanding of the issues.
The best description of what is available on retailers’ shelves that I could find, is summarized by BCB Honey in Canada. Here are the different types of Honey:
1– Fake honey— artificial or fake honey is imitation or artificial honey made from sugar or corn and rice syrups with additives essences and food coloring.
2- Adulterated honey— Also referred to as impure honey is 'honey' that has been added glucose, dextrose, molasses, sugar syrup, invert sugar, high fructose corn syrup, starch, or any other similar product other than floral nectar.
3- Pure honey — pasteurized but contains no added ingredients. Pure honey is heated at high temperatures and filtered.
4- Cream honey — Creamed Honey has been pasteurized and "seeded" with the desired crystal size to create tiny, fine crystals that are uniform in size, resulting in a honey that is nice and creamy.
5- Raw honey — When it comes to choosing the healthiest and most natural honey, your best bet is to go raw. Raw honey is honey in its initial form – straight from the beehive, just as nature meant it to be.
We all know that the benefits of raw honey are many and varied. Raw honey retains all of its original vitamins, minerals, and enzymes and it is great for allergies, especially if havrvisted lin your area.
UrbanGro & Truth Black’s new partnership, TruthGro, on the news.
TruthGro, is featured on the TV news channel ENCA’s Morning South Africa.
The TruthGro partnership aims to teach young people across South Africa about the benefits of aquaponics, permaculture, and sustainable farming. By working together, they hope to help schools across the country become more self-sufficient and reduce their reliance on supermarkets, with the focus on empowering youth through education.
Building a stronger, more sustainable agricultural sector for South Africa's future.
Ecosystem damaged by UPL chemical fire.
While UPL blame rioters for the cause of the fire, and residents and authorities blame UPL for not having the necessary permits, very little or nothing has been said about why these harmful products, that are banned in most parts of the world, are being sold here in South Africa?
UPL will most likely either get a slap on the wrist or a negligible fine in comparison to the profits they make. They might be forced to move slightly further away into another industrial park, this time with the necessary permits in place.
What seems to be amiss, and what we as a company can’t come to terms with, is that South Africa should have the same type of laws in place as they have in Europe, Unites States of America and other parts of the world preventing these harmful chemicals entering the country. To get some understanding of the lack of updated legislative framework to regulate agrochemical companies clicking on the button/link below to read The Daily Mavericks article titled “Poison on a plate”. Our outdated legislation framework dates back to 1998, and the lack of an updated legislative frame work protecting consumers is attributed to the capture of the sector by industry, and because “social progress has been sidelined in South Africa for nearly a decade due to corruption”.
amaBhungane, an investigative journalism organization focusing primarily on exposing political corruption in South Africa obtained and posted on their website the list of harmful pesticides. What amaBhungane’s investigation has confirmed is that the 14 000m2 warehouse held millions of liters of chemicals, some classified as “harmful”, “toxic” or “very toxic”.
For more detail on this and a comprehensive list of all the chemicals, click on the button below.
Some 13 chemicals were highlighted in the article and are listed below :
- Masta 900, an insecticide containing the “very potent neurotoxin” methomyl for which “contact with skin, inhalation of dust or spray, or swallowing may be fatal.”
- Methamidophos, also a “very potent neurotoxin”.
- Paraquat herbicide which poses “high risk for all life forms”.
- Terbufos, another “very toxic” chemical presenting “high risk to all forms of life”.
- Products containing tebuthiuron, a chemical classified as “very toxic to aquatic life … with long lasting effects” sold under a variety of brand names including Lava 800 and Limpopo SC.
- Potassium hydroxide and ammonia hydroxide, both intermediate products used in manufacturing that are “extremely caustic” chemicals that burn skin on contact.
- Cyprex, a “highly active herbicide” containing halosulfuron-methyl, a product that “may damage the unborn child”, according to the European Chemicals Agency.
- Triclon, a product containing triclopyr butotyl and classified as “flammable, harmful and environmentally hazardous” and that “may cause lung damage if swallowed”.
- MSMA 720, also known as monosodium methylarsonate which has been shown to have “limited evidence of a carcinogenic effect”, and over time converts to inorganic arsenic in soil with the potential to contaminate water sources.
- Oxamyl-based insecticides, including products Bandito and Oxadate, that also present “high risk for all life forms”.
- Tenazole, containing “extremely flammable” fungicide terbuconazole.
- Colloso, a fungicide containing the active ingredient carbendazim which “may cause heritable genetic damage”, “may impair fertility”, and “may cause harm to unborn child”.
These are just 13 of the chemicals on UPL’s inventory; there are over 700 line items on the list, including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and rodenticides. One of the pesticides listed above is paraquat, a substance so dangerous that one sip can be lethal. It was first marketed in 1962 but has been banned in the EU since 2007 and in Switzerland since 1989 on the grounds that it is too dangerous for European farmers, even when wearing protective equipment.
It would seem that everything has died down somewhat around this event. How quickly things fall out of view in our land. A distant court date will be set, with a protracted legal procedures and legal stone walling, and what really should be happening while waiting for the outcome of UPL disaster, is further investigation into who UPL’s customers are, which of these farmers/growers are using these harmful pesticides, as it’s ending up on our plates. Are there any other companies like UPL that are bringing these harmful pesticides into the country, I am sure there are many and focusing only on UPL will not change this in South Africa. Whatever has happened to our constitutional rights to life, dignity, an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being?
Seaspiracy on Netflix
If you have not watch Seaspiracy, you should. Although the essence of this shocking documentary highlights the impossible, that we will never be able to halt the massive impact of commercial fishing in our oceans, there is a small part of this latest Netflix documentary that touches on freshwater fish farming. Unfortunately, large scale commercial fish farms, are tipping the balance in the natural freshwater locations and the negative effects are becoming visible.
What is the solution? Small scale Aquaponic farms, and lots of them.
Why would this be any different? Well, it must, there is no choice. The Recirculating Aquaponic System, known as RAS, requires a delicate balanced symbiotic relationship between fish and plant. Too many fish, and the plants suffer, too little plants, and fish suffer. It is a closed loop system, and there is no chance of effecting our water sources, dams, and nature.
I found an interesting blog written by Amy Novogratz on the Netflix Seaspiracy documentary where Amy highlights the missed opportunity of the documentary. We share the same view and unlike Richard Attenborough’s documentary, “A Life on Our Planet”, Seaspiracy does not mention the possible solutions on how we could go about changing the situation. In Amy’s blog, she highlights a few initiatives been carried out by companies that are making change. We need many more, and why we will continue to keep on doing what we do and find a way to help our planet.
Our fresh trout, taste amazing, and more and more customers can’t get enough, thats why we are looking to double our tanks and trout quantities.
Click the button below that will link you to the blog.
The Daily Maverick - Poison on a plate!
One of the most interesting articles written by The Daily Maverick on our outdated agrichemical legislation in South Africa. Not only does the article highlight the dangers of chemicals used in farming in South Africa, but also provides background links to other articles where hazardous chemicals are being used and impacting on our lives. A must read for anyone concerned about their health. Links provided below.
Such great work being done by Advocate Susannah Cowen, Prof Leslie London, Anna Shevel (Good Food Network) and Carolyn Cramer.
Click the button below for the link to the article.
If its not good for Europe, why is it OK for Africa?
A recent article by Public Eye highlights practices on harmful pesticides manufactured in Europe that are banned from being used in fields in their own countries but can be exported to South Africa for their financial gain. The same regulators ban all imports of fresh produce that contains traces of the very same chemicals for their own consumption, and for good reasons. They are highly toxic and some deadly.
Click the button below for the link to the article.
A Life on our Planet
In a new Netflix documentary, A Life On Our Planet, Sir David Attenborough says we must change our diet. “The planet can’t support billions of meat-eaters. If we had a mostly plant-based diet we could increase the yield of the land”.
Experts are saying that using large tracks of land to grow feed solely for livestock is wasteful because animals are inefficient converters of calories, and growing human-edible crops on the land would provide more total food.
“Half of fertile land on Earth is now farmland, 70 per cent of birds are domestic, majority chickens. We are one third of animals on Earth. This is now our planet run by – and for – humans. There’s little left for the world. We have completely destroyed it.” says Attenborough. He adds: “Our planet is headed for disaster. We need to learn how to work with nature rather than against it.
Sir David warns: “Scientists predict by 2030 the rainforest turns into a dry savannah, altering the global water cycle. The Artic becomes ice-free, global warming increases, frozen soils release methane and accelerate climate change dramatically. He urges the world to restore biodiversity and rewild the world, which, he says, would be “easier than you think”.
Click the button below for the link to the trailer on Netflix.