Consumers have been urged to be vigilant about labels on honey, after a survey found products claiming to be of Irish origin were likely to be from countries including Spain and China.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) surveyed 20 randomly selected Irish honeys from various manufacturers and retail outlets throughout the State. It found five were non-Irish (of which four were labelled as Irish) and one bore a "misleading" label of origin.
Full audits were carried out on five food businesses as a result of the survey, the FSAI said. It is now working with retailers to ensure the products are removed from sale.
The analysis was conducted by the FSAI between July 2005 and April this year and was undertaken to establish if honeys sold as Irish honey on the Irish market complied with EU labelling legislation.
Some of the honey was found to be of Asian, Mediterranean or South American origin, even though the labels indicated it was Irish.
FSAI chief specialist in environmental health Jeffrey Moon reminded food businesses to ensure they keep adequate traceability information and to only purchase honey labelled as Irish from reputable sources.
"Consumers' interests are being undermined by operators who are too willing to exploit those who are seeking genuine Irish products. This is not acceptable. The onus is firmly on the food industry to be able to trace their products back to source and clearly state the correct country of origin.
"Not only is this the minimum consumers can expect, it is the legal responsibility for all those involved throughout the whole food chain from manufacturers to retailers," he said.
The five non-Irish honey products identified by the survey were:
- Molaga Pure Honey (best-before 9/8/07) - the label inferred Irish origin, but the survey indicated honey of Mediterranean/Spanish origin;
- Kilkenny Pure Irish Honey - labelled as Irish, but the survey indicated honey of Mediterranean/Spanish origin;
- Natural Ireland Honey (best-before 9/8/07) - labelled as Irish, but it the survey indicated honey of Mediterranean/Spanish origin;
- Irish Honey - Wheelock's Fruit Stall - labelled as Irish, but the survey indicated honey of South American origin;
- Wexford Honey - Jim Kenny - labelled as Irish, but the survey indicated honey of Eastern European to Chinese origin.