The Estonian Association of Professional Beekeepers (EKMÜ) has been actively organising the Estonian honey market in recent years. Now, beekeepers from Latvia and Lithuania have also joined the initiative of Estonian beekeepers. Thanks to this collaboration, fake honey has been removed from the Lidl chain in these countries.

EKMÜ raised concerns with its Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts about “Mazurskie moody” honey which is sold at Lidl in all three countries.

In Estonia, honey was removed from sale. In response, the local beekeeping organisation in Latvia forwarded the EKMÜ´s test results to Lidl, which also resulted in the removal of the product from sale.

The Lithuanian Beekeepers’ Union requested an emergency inspection from the local Food and Veterinary Board. The QSI laboratory found that the analysis results did not meet the requirements. The Lithuanian Beekeepers’ Union announced atypical sugars had been detected. As a result of the analysis, the supervision obliged Lidl to withdraw the product from sale.

Test carried out in 2023 revealed that 46% of honey imported to Europe is fake.

“This shows that even the small sector has the strength to stand up for a fair market,” says EKMÜ chairman Mario Kalvet. “There has been a lot of progress in Estonia, which we are proud of. When we started taking random samples of honey from retail chains in 2018, there was a suspicion that every third jar of imported honey that reached Estonian counters could be fake. Now local honey covers the need, trade chains are more aware, and the Estonian market is quite well controlled compared to Europe: for the last 4-5 years, PTA has been consistently checking the honey on sale in stores and sending samples to Germany for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies.”

Estonian beekeepers created DNA test for honey

EKMÜ has discussed the threat of counterfeit products with all retail chains: “Estonian chains have acted responsibly. Retail chains are accountable for what they sell. Of those involved, I want to specifically mention Selver, who has collaborated with professional beekeepers.”

EKMÜ has also contributed to the creation of a new honey DNA methodology. According to Kalvet, fake honey is not just deceiving the consumer; counterfeit products can be potentially dangerous for the consumer.

“When we started taking random samples of honey from retail chains in 2018, there was a suspicion that every third jar of imported honey that reached Estonian counters could be fake.”
EKMÜ chairman Mario Kalvet

“EKMÜ and state supervision tests show whether there is honey in the jar or not,” he said. “The tests do not show what is actually in the jar. Scammers can use sugar and artificial sweeteners. Until we know what’s actually in the jar, we can’t say it’s safe. Removing the fraud from the shelves will take time, but we will act as long as there is only genuine honey on the market.”

Counterfeit honey is a global problem that particularly painfully affects local beekeeping in countries where government regulations do not protect the market. For example, a test carried out in 2023 revealed that 46% of honey imported to Europe is fake. In some markets, 100% of the honey being sold is fake.

GOOD TO KNOW

• EKMÜ was founded in 2008 out of the need to participate in shaping beekeeping policy and represent Estonian beekeeping in Europe.
• In 2018, EKMÜ initiated the validation of the new TMR method and contributed to the development of Estonian honey’s footprint and the honey DNA methodology.
• In 2023, EKMÜ actively participated in the European Commission’s discussions on organizing the honey market. The Clean Up The Honeymarket initiative was created to clean up the honey market. The association’s chairman, Mario Kalvet, is also the vice president of EPBA.

Are you interested in trading with Estonia? Enterprise Estonia is providing sourcing services for foreign enterprises. Contact Estonian export advisors or use our free e-consulting service to start trade with Estonia.