A woman inspects honey products at a supermarket. [China Daily]

Almost no honey products on Beijing's shelves are pure, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Analysis of honey products, carried out by Zhao Jing, deputy director of the quality control department for bee products (Beijing office) at the Ministry of Agriculture, shows that date and acacia honey is often blended with rape flower honey, which has a higher yield and cheaper price.

"People don't usually buy rape honey alone because it doesn't taste as good, but factories tend to add it to products when the weather affects natural production," Zhao said.

Popular honeys on the market include ones made from acacia and date in the north of China, and milk vetch and longan in the south.

This year, acacia and date trees in Beijing went through a harsh spring followed by a dry start to the summer. The result was a much shorter period of flowering, with less honey produced and a subsequent price rise of about 20 percent.

Regular acacia honey, produced in bee yards, normally sell for 8 to 10 yuan per jin (500g) at wholesale rates. The price now is 12 yuan.

To lower the high price, some factories are generating sub-standard blends.

"They added sugar into the raw materials, but recently they have opted for coin syrup since the price of sugar has also risen," Zhao told METRO.

Qi Xueming, owner of Huafushun apiary in Daxing -- the largest bee farm in northeastern China -- believes the flavor is affected greatly by the blend.

"Pure honey is mildly sweet and contains the natural flavors of flowers, but most bottled honeys are so sweet they hurt the throat," he said.

However, most customers find it hard to tell the good from the bad.

Wen Sha, a graduate who buys honey occasionally, said his only standard for choosing honey is the price.

"Most of the time I select medium-level products," he said.

In a supermarket near the Fourth Ring Road, six brands of honey line the shelves. Some are clearly labeled with the names of flowers while others are vaguely labeled as "honey." Prices range from 10 yuan to 20 yuan for a 500 g jar.

A saleswoman said Baihua brand sells the fastest, but noted that she doesn't know the differences between the honeys.

"They all look similar to me. I guess people buy Baihua because it is an established brand," she said.

The purity of honey isn't the only factor to affect quality. According to Qiu Ruigui, director of the Beekeeping Association in Changping District, honey can also be labeled as "ripe" or "unripe".

Ripe honeys refer to those that concentrate slowly under natural conditions, usually taking five to seven days.

They are said to be thicker and have fuller flavors, as well as contain natural enzymes and amino acids. Unripe honeys contain more water and have been processed by centrifuges.

Qiu, who is also the raw material provider to Chuhe Food Company and a pharmaceutical factory in Changping, said there are almost no ripe honeys in the domestic market.

He added that some are so diluted that they ferment two months after being opened.

"Not many beekeepers can afford to wait for nature to deliver its honey," Qiu said.

"It takes twice as long but they do not get twice the payment from their customers."

According to the China Statistical Yearbook, China produced 180,000 tons of honey last year, with more than half sold in the country.

A survey at 39.net, a healthcare website, adds that more than 90 percent of Chinese citizens buy honey regularly.

(China Daily June 28, 2010)