# Spotted - strange wild honey for sale in China (scam?)



## Pete O (Jul 13, 2013)

You are wise to have avoided whatever that orange stuff was. The Chinese are notorious for an utter disregard to safety in their food products any you would have no idea as the chemical make-up of this "honey".

It's been my understanding that their massive use of insecticides had killed off most of the insects and pollination is largely done by hand. If that is the case where did this "honey" come from?


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

I read somewhere that well over 1/2 the honey in all china's markets was fake or altered. they even fake the comb with petroleum wax. it is not buyer beware but more like avoid this stuff altogether. these people were adding toxic plastic chemicals to baby formula for sale in their own country.


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## Remichi (Apr 6, 2013)

I posted it on a Chinese beekeeping forum and they also say it is fake and synthetic. As to what the orange crystals are made of I have no answer yet.

Strange thing is that honey is very expensive in the supermarket, it costs more than back home in Holland. In Holland a 350g pot is around 4 euros, here it is often more than 5 euros. And then you don't even know if it is real honey or not.


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## SowthEfrikan (Mar 2, 2015)

Pete O said:


> You are wise to have avoided whatever that orange stuff was. The Chinese are notorious for an utter disregard to safety in their food products any you would have no idea as the chemical make-up of this "honey".


Remember the Summer Olympics in 2008 and the milk scare in China at the time? They had some kind of chemical used in plastics mixed into the milk to make it go further. Just incredible. Who cares if it is poisonous? I don't feed any of my pets anything with ingredients from China.

That "honey" could have made for an interesting chemical analysis later. Did the vendor by any chance eat any?

Great photos. Thank you for sharing.


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

you are likely eating more china ingredients than you know. it is my understanding that over 60% of the feed-grains for the organic livestock industry comes from china. about none for conventional livestock. aren"t we internet savy consumers clever?


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## rolftonbees (Jul 10, 2014)

In some mountainous places, there are asian bees that are larger than apis m. that produce a honey from a type of rhodedendrin flower. The honey has toxins that produce a high/intoxication.

The honey is painstakingly collected from the underside of steep cliffs using rope ladders that are packed up the mountainsides. These bees build combs in the open air under rock ledges on the cliff walls.

Too much at once can cause illness and paralysis. Perhaps this is what was being sold.

Mention of such honey is found in writings about the Roman armies who encountered it in Turkey.

Notice the quite large cell size on the displayed combs and the branch samples displayed as well.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

The intoxicating honey of the himilaya is highly prized and guy risk their lives to get it. You would be very lucky to find it being sold. More likely after it's collected, it's party time, till it's gone. the comb looked more like a wasp or hornet comb to me, and larvae of those are regarded as a delicacy. However it may just have been to add a bit of interest to his display, even if not directly related.

I guess a few gullible tourists may shell out some money for the novelty of it, his expenses are likely very low, so he can eke by. Fake honey though, would look like honey that's the plan. Whatever he was selling was a bit different so may have been genuine, genuine what, is the question.


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