# Cheap Honey on the shelves



## Cadence (Mar 31, 2014)

A small country store nearby is selling Rich's 100% Pure Honey, packaged in Tennessee. They selling it at $3.98 for 22 ounces. No idea what they pay for it. Does anyone else see this product near you?


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## Forgiven (Nov 17, 2016)

Not that bad. Then again I guess our prices don't compare. I was shocked to see 
5€/500grams this autumn. That, however, seems to have ended. It was terrible year for honey, rains for most of the main crop time... I may actually go to the shop and offer them a deal around april, I don't have enough to sell for more than few months anyways, and by that time I think most domestic producers will have run out of honey so one can dictate the price.


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## appalachianoutdoors (May 16, 2015)

I can believe it. I've read many times that sugar syrup is much cheaper than pure honey...


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## Cadence (Mar 31, 2014)

It won't have any influence on what I sell my honey for. I just have to hear comments from non-buyers about my price being too high.


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

Hey Carol. Funny, I just saw where a local beek was selling for $13 a quart. Locally, we normally get $16 a quart. I am guessing it is goldenrod, but I don't know that.


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## beefarmer (May 2, 2010)

Cadence, tell your customers your honey is pure,local honey, you may have to explain about local being better for allergies, but don't compare yours to the junk.


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## Dan P (Oct 29, 2014)

No I havent seen that label. But I have seen a local guys label and he has several stores selling his honey. All local and lots of different flavors. With the amount I see and the other flavors. There is just no way. Maybe a locally placed label on a jar of something from far away. There are a lot of re-labelers or whatever they are called here and every where. Just explain your product and explain the processing of honey and the effects of heating and ultra filtering and false labeling.And ill always ask want to see the girls? Make your price and stick to it.


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## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

Just wondering what the price of honey in Finland could possibly have to do with honey prices in Alabama?


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## Slow Drone (Apr 19, 2014)

It's packed by Webers in Savannah TN. There's a store called Rich's in Savannah also they've been around for 50 years.


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## Slow Drone (Apr 19, 2014)

Riskybizz said:


> Just wondering what the price of honey in Finland could possibly have to do with honey prices in Alabama?


About as much as it has to do with honey packed in Tennessee sold in Alabama.


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

Nope wrong post


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## Dan P (Oct 29, 2014)

Well if its pure honey thats a good price. thats like bulk price. I can usually get $12 a pound for mesquite


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## DerTiefster (Oct 27, 2016)

I suspect our Finn poster was referring to a short-lived variation in price (probably to the low side) from the usual price in his area. We don't have the reference information about their usual pricing. Given the communication and transportation links which exist over the world now, local "blips" in price can be correlated with each other.

I've appreciated his input on various threads. As he says, "Contrasting opinions from northern Europe"

Michael


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## razoo (Jul 7, 2015)

Why are they selling their honey off so cheap? 
I don't know what prices usually are in AL or TN , but that seems very low.


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## razoo (Jul 7, 2015)

appalachianoutdoors said:


> I can believe it. I've read many times that sugar syrup is much cheaper than pure honey...


Is there any way to verify if "honey" is actually pure honey and not sugar syrup?


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## BadBeeKeeper (Jan 24, 2015)

Slow Drone said:


> It's packed by Webers in Savannah TN. There's a store called Rich's in Savannah also they've been around for 50 years.


Weber Foods is Louis and Vickie Weber. They also own/owned another business called L & L Trim, Inc., which appears to be a cleaning service (but is also listed as a 'specialty foods distributor'), and their e-mail is listed as lltriminc (at) bellsouth.net (may not be current)...a more recent e-mail addy is listed as louis (at) deanfoods.com (but I don't think it is correct, Dean Foods is a BIG company out of Dallas). Info indicates they have been doing business since about 1983. Phone number seems to be (731)925-2889, if someone wanted to call and ask.

Rich's store is a hardware store owned by T. F. Rich.


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## Cadence (Mar 31, 2014)

razoo said:


> Why are they selling their honey off so cheap?
> I don't know what prices usually are in AL or TN , but that seems very low.


Those prices are way lower than what local beekeepers prices are, less than half of local price. How they can do it with shipping costs and reselling to a retailer, I don't know.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

That's what, about $2 lb packaged and labeled at retail?
Funny honey IMO.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

razoo said:


> Is there any way to verify if "honey" is actually pure honey and not sugar syrup?


Yes, but it comes with a hefty diagnostic lab price tag


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## Hops Brewster (Jun 17, 2014)

OP says the cheap honey is *packaged * in Tennessee. There's no telling just where that honey was *produced*. It could very well have come out of barrels imported from China or India before it ended up with a "packaged in Tennessee" label.

I bought a part for my pickup a couple weeks back. The box read "packaged in the USA" then in smaller lettering, "assembled in Mexico using components made in USA, China and Vietnam".


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

I wonder what the cost of production is to the beekeeper(s) for a lb of this honey?
Is it possible in N.America?
copied off of google images:


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

I wonder if it taste like honey that cost $3.98 for 22 ounces


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## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

LanZac

I know that was only your first post on here but don't be afraid to just step up to the microphone and say what's on your mind opcorn: By the way are you getting a lot of snow up there in Oregon??


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## Gumpy (Mar 30, 2016)

If it only says "packaged in TN" then it's a probably a safe bet it's imported from someplace else. The federal government has gutted our label of origin laws. It's no longer necessary to list where a product is produced. We recently bought some Jack Link's jerkey. The package says, "Packaged in USA". It doesn't tell you where it's made. I've heard, though I have not been able to confirm, that some companies are shipping American beef to China to be process and sent back to be packaged.


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## appalachianoutdoors (May 16, 2015)

razoo said:


> Is there any way to verify if "honey" is actually pure honey and not sugar syrup?


So, I googled it and this is what I read:
1. Drop a drop into a glass of water. Real honey will drop straight to bottom of glass. Funny honey will spread around in the glass.
2. Put a drop of honey on a paper towel. Funny honey will form a water mark around the drop.
3. Real honey is flammable. Dip a wooden match tip in the honey. Strike it as usual. If its real honey, it will light and stay burning. If its watered down, the water will either keep it from lighting or will put it out.
Inexpensive & interesting things to try at home..🐝


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## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

gee Appalachia you just single handedly put every honey testing laboratory in the country out of business....


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## Slow Drone (Apr 19, 2014)

It's illegal in TN to put a 100% pure honey label on honey if it is not 100% honey. I doubt a legitimate business would risk their license. Honey in TN goes for anywhere from $10.00 to $ 20.00 a quart just so you know. The Amish in my area sell it for $12.98 a quart.


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## appalachianoutdoors (May 16, 2015)

Riskybizz said:


> gee Appalachia you just single handedly put every honey testing laboratory in the country out of business....


I'm curious to try those and see if any work..I'll try the match test on my honey..I know it's 100%


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## DerTiefster (Oct 27, 2016)

Are those tests targeting water content or whether there is cane sugar (disaccharides) in the material? A density test would be reasonably good at identifying water content. The flame test has been used for a long time for distilled spirits, although I'm not familiar with it on a practical basis.

Just to add some words, I thought that a polarimeter measurement was useful in distinguishing honey from sucrose. I don't know whether it can distinguish honey from invert sugar. Perhaps I should do more reading.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Just because something is posted on the web does not make it true.  

Those "tests" posted in #25 are not going to tell you anything useful about the alleged 'honey' subjected to the test.


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## appalachianoutdoors (May 16, 2015)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Just because something is posted on the web does not make it true.
> 
> Those "tests" posted in #25 are not going to tell you anything useful about the alleged 'honey' subjected to the test.


I do agree. Those are just interesting Google results, not true scientific testing. Now I will go Google polarimeter..


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

They gotta be working on razor thin margins. Can you even import, package, and deliver for slightly more than $2 per lb? 

The state of TN gives them a nod here on their "Pick Tennessee Products" site: https://agriculture.tn.gov/Marketing.asp?QSTRING=DETAIL&DISPLAY=1652

Pretty sure the only thing Tennessee about this product is the state name on the label. It would be interesting to know the true origin of this product.

We have a "Farm" store near us selling this same kind of product and I believe that it has very little impact on our sales. There are a significant number of customers who seek out real products directly from the local producers and are willing to pay for a quality product. These customers would likely never consider such a product like the one referenced here.


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## Spur9 (Sep 13, 2016)

Maybe they should do like the scotch producers -

whiskey vs whisky
.
.
.
honey vs hony


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

Slow Drone said:


> It's illegal in TN to put a 100% pure honey label on honey if it is not 100% honey. I doubt a legitimate business would risk their license. Honey in TN goes for anywhere from $10.00 to $ 20.00 a quart just so you know. The Amish in my area sell it for $12.98 a quart.


There is an Amish settlement in Tennessee? Where?


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## Nugget Shooter (Mar 28, 2016)

I agree the key word is "*packaged"* a sneaky trick often used to hide a products origin like perhaps China


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## Spur9 (Sep 13, 2016)

psm1212 said:


> There is an Amish settlement in Tennessee? Where?


http://amishamerica.com/tennessee-amish/


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## Spur9 (Sep 13, 2016)

Nugget Shooter said:


> I agree the key word is "*packaged"* a sneaky trick often used to hide a products origin like perhaps China


Kind of like bourbon. I always read the label and stay away from those that are "bottled in". That doesn't tell me were they were distilled.


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## Beerz (Feb 11, 2013)

Excerpted from Western Farmpress:

"China sends its honey to a long list of Asian countries (particularly India) not subject to the U.S. import penalty. The Chinese honey is then given fake labels and point-of-origin documents, routinely repackaged and mixed with other honey, loaded on containers, and dropped into the U.S. market. The chop shop approach often results in ultra-filtrated honey: Pollen traces are literally removed, making the honey untraceable. But the process also leaves the honey devoid of color and taste. Solution? The chop shops just stir in extra honey made in India or Vietnam.

Texas A&M’s Vaughn Bryant, the U.S. guru of pollen detection, studied 60 honey samples from major retailers across 10 different states in 2011. Bryant’s findings showed that three-quarters of the honey samples had undergone the ultra-filtration process.

Despite a mountain of evidence of complicity, China’s Asian pipeline partners deny the undeniable. India has doubled down, and with angelic insistence, claims it has merely ramped up domestic honey production — a 'cat that ate the canary' approach."

I do not suggest that Rich's has done anything illegal. I am sure that they were provided the "proper" paperwork. But when they are able to sell it at a price some of us pay just for the jar, lid, and labels, you have to believe something isn't right.


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## mike17l (Jun 22, 2012)

Beerz said:


> Excerpted from Western Farmpress:
> 
> "China sends its honey to a long list of Asian countries (particularly India) not subject to the U.S. import penalty. The Chinese honey is then given fake labels and point-of-origin documents, routinely repackaged and mixed with other honey, loaded on containers, and dropped into the U.S. market. The chop shop approach often results in ultra-filtrated honey: Pollen traces are literally removed, making the honey untraceable. But the process also leaves the honey devoid of color and taste. Solution? The chop shops just stir in extra honey made in India or Vietnam.
> 
> ...


Ditto!


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Here is a link to the full Western FarmPress article:

http://www.westernfarmpress.com/blog/honey-laundering-trails-all-lead-china


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## pgayle (Jan 27, 2008)

I had some honey not produced by me that I was reselling. I told people very clearly that "I did not produce this honey. Because it did not come out of my colonies, I can make no guarantees as the actual origin of the honey, even though I was told it was local. It tastes fine and I am using it in my tea, but that is all I know for sure." 

I told the customers that if my bees make enough to sell this summer, it will cost a lot more because I can guarantee the origin. People were still snapping it up at $7 for a squeeze bottle and $9 for a pint.


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## Gypsi (Mar 27, 2011)

The Dean Foods link, in Dallas is interesting. Texas changed its honey sales rules to allow sales of up to 2500 pounds totally uninspected and pretty much unregulated. The port of Houston is conveniently close by....


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## Brian Suchan (Apr 6, 2005)

http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...d-Organic-Brazilian-Wildflower-Honey-For-Sale

Here ya go!! Lol


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