Honey sold by several major brands in India has been found adulterated with sugar syrup, the environment watchdog CSE claimed Wednesday.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) food researchers selected 13 top as well as smaller brands of processed and raw honey being sold in India to check their purity.
It was found that 77 per cent of the samples were adulterated with the addition of sugar syrup. Out of the 22 samples checked, only five passed all the tests.
“Honey samples from leading brands such as Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu, Hitkari and Apis Himalaya, all failed the NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) test,” the study said.
Responding to the claim, Emami (Zandu) spokesperson said, “Emami as a responsible organisation ensures that its Zandu pure honey conforms and adheres to all the protocols and quality norms/standards laid down by the Government of India and its authorised entities such as FSSAI.”
Dabur too refuted the claim, saying the recent reports seem “motivated and aimed at maligning our brand”.
“We assure our consumers that Dabur honey is 100 per cent pure. It is 100 per cent indigenous, collected naturally from Indian sources and packed with no added sugar or other adulterants. We also assure our consumers that Dabur does not import any honey/syrup from China and our honey is sourced entirely from Indian beekeepers,” it said in a statement.
It added that Dabur is complying with all 22 parameters mandated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for testing honey.
“In addition, Dabur honey is also tested for the presence of antibiotics, as mandated by FSSAI. Further, Dabur is the only company in India to have an NMR testing equipment in our own laboratory, and the same is used to regularly test our honey being sold in the Indian market. This is to ensure that Dabur Honey is 100 per cent pure without any adulteration,” it said.
