The ACCC has concluded its investigation into allegations Capilano Honey Limited (Capilano) breached the Australian Consumer Law in relation to representations about its \u2018Allowrie\u2019 honey and other products.
\nThe investigation followed allegations in the media that a number of honey products including Capilano\u2019s \u2018Allowrie\u2019 honey, labelled \u2018pure\u2019 and \u2018100% honey\u2019 were adulterated with sugar syrup.
\nThe allegations were based on results arising from a testing process known as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) testing. NMR testing can be used for a variety of applications, but has only recently emerged as a testing method for honey adulteration.
\nThe ACCC is advised NMR testing is not yet reliable enough to determine whether honey is adulterated and therefore should not be used as a basis to support legal action. This is consistent with the approach of regulators in the UK, US and the EU.
\nThe ACCC\u2019s investigation found Capilano had taken steps to provide assurance, and did not uncover any other evidence that supported the allegation Capilano\u2019s \u2018Allowrie\u2019 honey was adulterated with sugar syrup.
\n\u201cDuring the course of our investigation however, it also became evident that there is low confidence in the current test method (the C4 test) used to detect adulterated honey.
\n\u201cGovernments and research agencies around the world are investigating alternative testing methods, including NMR, but these are not yet developed to the point they can be used with sufficient confidence,\u201d ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.
\nSince 2015, the Department of Agriculture has tested imported honey using the C4 test, which did not detect adulteration in \u2018Allowrie\u2019 honey or some supermarket private-label products.
\n\u201cThe ACCC understands that where there are different tests for honey products that produce different results, it can cause significant frustration among consumers and industry,\u201d Mr Keogh said.
\n\u201cWe understand the Department of Agriculture, which is best placed to determine the most appropriate form of honey testing, is reviewing testing standards.\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s important that consumers have confidence in the claims made about the foods they purchase, including honey. The ACCC urges the honey industry and the Department of Agriculture develop an agreed approach to testing, and implement more robust programs to provide greater assurance about the integrity of their products,\u201d said Mr Keogh.<\/p>\n
The allegations raised with the ACCC in September 2018 related to blended Australian and imported honey and not Capilano\u2019s Australian honey range. Consequently, the ACCC\u2019s investigation only focused on Capilano\u2019s blended imported and Australian honey product under the Allowrie and certain supermarket private label brands.
\nThe inspection of imported honey is the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture.
\nThe Department of Agriculture does not use NMR testing to test honey for adulteration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The ACCC has concluded its investigation into allegations Capilano Honey Limited (Capilano) breached the Australian Consumer Law in relation to representations about its \u2018Allowrie\u2019 honey and other products. The investigation followed allegations in the media that a number of honey products including Capilano\u2019s \u2018Allowrie\u2019 honey, labelled \u2018pure\u2019 and \u2018100% honey\u2019 were adulterated with sugar syrup. … Continue reading “Honey investigation concludes due to testing uncertainty”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}