Although it has become less common, some customers still caution that cheaper honey might be diluted with syrup. This concern is  especially prevalent among older individuals. It wouldn’t be surprising if such practices occurred just after World War II when sugar was  a scarce commodity, and such “honey” was likely sold during that time. When we first started selling Manuka honey 25 years ago, we often received questions like, “The viscosity and crystallization of honey vary,  even from the same flower. Does this mean the production methods differ?” Defining “production” in this context is quite challenging.  The honey we handle is, in fact, a true primary product, much like fresh produce.

The inexpensive honey found in supermarkets is quite different from the raw honey we handle, even though they are both sold as honey.  Almost all of those products undergo various forms of processing. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the majority of these honeys come  from foreign countries, particularly China. These products often undergo several treatments to standardize their characteristics and ensure consistency across batches.

What gets added to honey is part of each company’s proprietary methods, but generally, it involves “invert sugar,” which is derived by  hydrolyzing sucrose (table sugar) or starches such as corn starch into “high-fructose corn syrup.” By adding a sucrose solution and acid,  and applying heat, the mixture breaks down into glucose and fructose. These simple sugars are ideal for increasing the volume of honey.  According to the laws at the time, it was permissible to increase honey volume by up to 20% without requiring a label indicating such an addition.  Therefore, products could still be labeled as “pure honey.” However, in reality, many of these products contained far more than 20% additives,  yet they were often sold under the label of “pure honey.”

Furthermore, many of these honeys are harvested prematurely to increase production. Instead of waiting for the honey to fully ripen  (where the nectar brought back by the worker bees, which initially contains a high water content, is evaporated by the fanning of house  bees until its sugar content reaches over 80-85%, and then sealed with a wax cap), the honey is often artificially heated to evaporate water and increase sugar concentration. The honey produced and collected in this way undergoes various processes to fit the commercial standards unique to Japan, such as  deodorization, decolorization, and the addition of various substances. This highly processed industrial honey is fundamentally different from  the raw honey we handle. While processed honey is a secondary product, our honey is a primary product, completely unprocessed and  natural. In fact, some customers at the time even questioned us, saying, “Your honey is so different from what’s sold in supermarkets that it seems fake.”

Looking back on those times, I truly believe that today’s generation of customers has a far more refined palate. Meanwhile, the major  honey manufacturers that once sold what could be called “syrup honey” likely have no regrets about it. It seems that this lack of reflection  persists, as even now, there are many cases where they shamelessly sell heated and processed blended honey under the name “Manuka honey.”