Tactical Honey

What You Should Know About Honey & Why Purity Matters

Honey is one of the most commonly adulterated foods worldwide, ranked as the third most faked food after milk and olive oil. Food fraud cases involving honey have surged in recent years. In fact, testing by the U.S. FDA has shown that roughly one in ten imported “honey” samples contained cheap added sweeteners. These adulterants—often added after harvest—create a product that looks like honey but cheats both the customer and honest beekeepers.

What Is Honey Adulteration?

Honey adulteration includes any practice that dilutes or contaminates honey’s purity. This often involves adding high-fructose corn syrup, cane sugar syrup, rice syrup, or beet syrup to real honey to stretch volume and cut costs. Some honey is even mixed with starch or other fillers abroad.

Adulteration can also occur inside the hive. Some industrial beekeepers overfeed bees with sugar water or corn syrup to boost honey production. Essentially, the bees are converting syrup into “honey,” which undermines the natural quality of the product. Even worse, some beekeepers use antibiotics or chemical treatments to control pests and boost yield—adding another layer of contamination.

The Trouble with Imported Honey

A large portion of honey on U.S. shelves is imported, often with little oversight. These foreign shipments have been found to contain contaminants like antibiotics, heavy metals, and illegal additives. Traceability is another serious issue. Normally, pollen in honey provides a “fingerprint” that shows where the honey came from. But importers often use an ultra-filtration process to remove all pollen and identifying markers.

Ultra-filtration heats and pushes honey through ultrafine filters under high pressure, stripping out pollen and nutrients. This makes it nearly impossible to trace the honey’s origin or detect adulteration. The FDA has stated that ultra-filtered, pollen-free honey may not qualify as real honey. Yet, studies have found that most major supermarket honey contains no pollen at all. This lack of traceability opens the door for questionable or counterfeit honey to enter the U.S. market.

Industry Shortcuts Hurt Honey and Bees

Common industrial practices also affect honey quality and bee health. Feeding sugar syrup instead of letting bees forage naturally deprives them of the nutrients found in nectar and pollen. Studies show that bees fed artificial diets are more vulnerable to disease and toxins, especially when combined with pesticide exposure.

Chemical treatments are another concern. To control pests like varroa mites, many beekeepers apply pesticides or antibiotics inside the hive. These substances often show up in the honey, contaminating it with residues. While some of these treatments may be labeled “organic,” the term only means carbon-based—not harmless. DDT is an organic compound, after all. Poison is poison, whether it comes with an eco-label or not.

Choosing Pure, All-Natural Honey

Quality-focused beekeepers are pushing back against these harmful trends. At Tactical Honey, we adhere to all-natural, treatment-free practices. That means no synthetic or even “organic” hive chemicals, and no ultra-filtration. Our bees forage on natural nectar flows and maintain hive health without the aid of chemical crutches.

The result is honey that is raw, unfiltered (except for basic straining), and true to its floral source. It retains all its natural pollen, flavor, and nutrients. Producing this kind of honey requires more care and lower yields, which is why it may cost more. But the result is the real thing—honey as nature intended. And just as important, our bees thrive without the strain of artificial diets or chemical exposure.

In a market flooded with fake and filtered honey, choosing all-natural, treatment-free honey isn’t just a better choice—it’s the only honest one.

Sources

1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Import Alert 36-01: Detention Without Physical Examination of Honey Due to Adulteration with Added Sugars.”
2. International Honey Market Study – European Commission, 2021.
3. “Honey Adulteration Detection: Methods and Challenges.” Food Control Journal, Elsevier, 2022.
4. Vaughn Bryant, Texas A&M University – Pollen analysis research on honey origin traceability.
5. “Bees and Pesticides: A Deadly Combination.” Pesticide Action Network, 2020.
6. “Lead and Heavy Metal Contamination in Imported Honey.” Environmental Science & Technology, 2019.
7. Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO/WHO – Honey Standards.
8. American Honey Producers Association – Statements on ultra-filtration and honey origin.
9. USDA Honey Market Reports, 2020–2024.
10. “Honeybee Health and Artificial Diets.” Journal of Apicultural Research, 2021.
11. “DDT and Its Impact.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
12. National Honey Board – Honey Purity and Processing FAQs.
13. Scientific Beekeeping – Randy Oliver on hive treatments and residue risks.
14. “Economic Fraud in the Food Chain.” Interpol and Europol Food Crime Reports, 2023.
15. U.S. Pharmacopeia Food Fraud Database – Honey Adulteration Trends.