Fake honey threatens SA beekeepers, harms agriculture

The agriculture department, backed by the South African Police Services (SAPS), recently raided Buffalo City Metro stores in the Eastern Cape, seizing mislabeled counterfeit honey from spaza shops to chains. Beekeepers warn that fakes undercut sales, erode trust, and threaten pollination-dependent agriculture.

The department’s social media updates on the high-profile initiative revealed checks on everything from tiny informal outlets to major chain stores, with large volumes of wrongly tagged counterfeit honey being seized.

The University of Cape Town’s research contracts and innovation noted that the demand for honey on a global scale has significantly increased in recent decades, with global honey exports doubling from 373 000 tonnes in 2004 to 751 000 tonnes in 2022.

Demand fuels counterfeit honey

This is especially true for the South African market, which has become dominated by imports, leaving local beekeepers and genuine honey producers struggling.

According to Danelene Dampies of the Dee’vine Honey brand, counterfeit honey harms the entire honey industry in several ways.

“In many South African households, honey is viewed as a luxury rather than a necessity. This means that when people see extremely cheap ‘honey’, which is often counterfeit or adulterated, they are more likely to buy it without realising it is not real honey,” Dampies explained.

She noted that genuine beekeepers experience lower sales and face unfair competition from artificially cheap, fake products.

How to spot fake honey

Dampies said authentic, locally produced honey is made naturally by bees and has a rich, complex flavour, a natural aroma, and a texture and colour that vary depending on the flowers the bees forage on, often crystallising over time as a sign of purity.

“Counterfeit honey, however, is typically diluted with sugar syrups or produced artificially, resulting in a very sweet but flat taste, little to no aroma, and an overly clear, uniform appearance that rarely crystallises,” she said.

Additionally, counterfeit honey is:

Very low price compared to other honey products.
Overly clear, uniform appearance with no natural variation.
Never crystallises, even after long periods.
Thin, runny texture that pours like syrup.
Without a natural aroma or having an unusually weak scent.
Flat, overly sweet taste with no depth or floral notes.
Vaguely labelled, with terms like “blended honey,” “honey syrup”, or missing beekeeper and region information.
Labelled with ingredients other than honey, such as syrups or flavourings.

“What to also look at is the product of origin. If I see on the label it shows more than one country, for example, RSA/Uganda/Kenya, then I am suspicious already,” Dampies added.

Call to buy local

According to Dawn Noemdoe, founder of HoneyatDawn, counterfeit honey hurts everyone, not just producers, but consumers, too.

“For beekeepers like myself, it undercuts the real value of the work that goes into producing authentic honey. It makes it harder to build trust with customers and forces honest producers to compete with products that are cheaper because they’re not real. For the industry, it chips away at the integrity of South African honey, which has always been known for its purity and quality.

“Firstly, the only way to really know is to have the honey tested,” she said.

Noemdoe added that transparency is usually the first giveaway. If a product has no clear producer, no batch information, or the price feels “too good to be true,” that’s a red flag.

“Consumers should also look at labelling, traceability, and buy directly from trusted beekeepers where possible,” she advised.

Regarding the seizure of counterfeit honey, she said that it’s encouraging to see action being taken. “It gives me some confidence that there’s recognition of how serious this issue is, especially for small producers who rely on a fair and transparent market. But it also shows that we still have a long way to go. For me, the focus remains on scaling responsibly and staying committed to quality, even while the market adjusts.

“Every jar sold directly from a beekeeper strengthens the local industry,” she said.