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Fact Check: 'SaffolaFraud' trends after Honeygate; company says each batch faces NMR test

A new twist emerged in the honey adulteration fiasco after social media posts claimed that Saffola - one of the brands that passed the stringent NMR test - sources its honey from Apis, which failed the same purity test. Shortly after, posts emerged that such claims were claims and Saffola doesn't source its honey from Apis. A recent report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed that only three honey brands - Saffola, MarkfedSohna and Nature's Nectar - out of 13 passed the stringent NMR test for testing the purity of their product. It claimed that household names including Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu, Hitkari and Apis were adulterating their honey with a modified sugar imported from China, which can bypass domestic standard tests. Notably, NMR test has been made mandatory for honey being exported to other countries, but not for sale in India. With #SaffolaFraud trending on Twitter, users were divided on whether to believe the brand or not. It all began with a Twitter post that stated: "SHOCKING to see a brand like Saffola fooling their customers here is a video where you can clearly see that Saffola takes its honey, from APIS. APIS honey has failed the NMR test then how come @SaffolaHoney has passed the test? This should be brought to light. #SaffolaFraud"

Oh honey, this tastes bitter!

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has sure bombed us with its findings that most of our honey brands are not just adulterated but done so with a type of sugar syrup. Some of the big names include Dabur, Patanjali and Zandu. This adulteration is so fine that it could bypass some of the basic tests used to detect adulteration in honey. Of course, these companies denied it and claimed that their products meet the regulatory requirements laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The Director General of CSE, Sunita Narain, stated that the organisation launched an investigation when beekeepers in North India reported reduced profits despite a spike in honey sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major brand Homey are adulterated Sugar syrup, Centre for Science and Environment CSE

he Honey sold by several major brands in India has been found adulterated with sugar syrup, the environment watchdog CSE claimed on Wednesday. Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) food researchers shortlisted 13 top as well as smaller brands of processed and raw honey available in Indian market to check their purity. To everyone's shock CSE 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. “Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu, Hitkari and Apis Himalaya, all failed the NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) test,” the study said. The samples of the shortlisted brands were first tested at the Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) at the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Gujarat. The CSE reported almost all the top brands passed the tests of purity while a few smaller brands failed the tests to detect C4 sugar or basic adulteration using cane sugar.

The bee, not the brand — India needs to bet its money on the right honey

In 1974, ABBA sang, “Honey honey, don’t conceal it, a-ha, honey honey”. Many decades later, Indian media discovered what was really concealed in the honey — Chinese sugar. The Centre for Science and Environment or CSE food researchers have found that most honey sold in the Indian market is adulterated. Some have called this India’s ‘Honeygate’. Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu have all reportedly failed the purity test. This comes at a time when India is using copious amounts of honey and concoctions made with it to ward off the novel coronavirus. But something else ticked off the CSE to launch an investigation — why were honey farmers in north India reporting a massive dip in profits when the sales of honey had hit the roof? The CSE has alleged that Indian honey companies had designed their products to pass the regulations laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), but it was a German lab that saw through the tinkering with sugar syrup. The brands have rejected the findings and called it an attempt to malign them. What’s more, even the bees are not having it easy as the world desperately tries to keep several species from going extinct. If bees go out of business, a part of our food chain collapses. And that’s why honey, the golden liquid, is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week. India is ‘honey trapped’ ‘Immunity’ — that’s the word that saw a 350 per cent increase in Google searches during the lockdown. And when Indians think of immunity, honey features in the top hits. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi batted for the AYUSH ministry’s home remedies in coronavirus season, which included honey-pepper. But what if we are consuming sugar in the name of honey? ‘Nuclear Magnetic Resonance’ — that’s the phrase that not many in India are googling. It’s what reportedly caught the honey adulteration that passed through undetected in Indian tests. It identifies modified sugar syrups. Out of the 13 brands tested, only three — Saffola, MarkfedSohna and Nature’s Nectar — passed this test done by the German lab. Now, many will say the test of purity is when honey doesn’t freeze or crystallise in the fridge or in winter. Frankly, most of the honey in my kitchen cupboard have crystals. So, how did the brands pass the FSSAI tests called C3 and C4? China has created several sugar syrups that go undetected in tests. You could buy them off Alibaba and other sites, and import them to India, some labelled as ‘paint’ to go under the radar. In Indian markets, these sugars were called ‘All Pass’. Read this deep dive in Down To Earth. The decade before this was crowded with stories of what really goes into bottles of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. That led the CSE to blink. Reports of pesticides in the Indian drinks and more toxins than in the beverages of the developed world were heaped on the cola giants. In 2012, Ramdev accused the drinks of being ‘toilet cleaners’ — a story that stuck. Now Patanjali and its honey are on the CSE’s radar. “It is a food fraud more nefarious and more sophisticated than what we found in our 2003 and 2006 investigations into soft drinks; more damaging to our health than perhaps anything that we have found till now — keeping in mind the fact that we are still fighting against a killer Covid-19 pandemic with our backs to the wall. This overuse of sugar in our diet will make it worse,” CSE’s Sunita Narain told Business Today. The CSE realised that raw honey adulterated to even 50 per cent of the content passed the Indian tests. On 1 August this year, India made the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance test mandatory for all honey exports — surely something was up. “The recent reports seem motivated and aimed at maligning our brand. We assure our consumers that Dabur Honey is 100% Pure. It is 100% indigenous, collected naturally from Indian sources and packed with no added sugar or other adulterants,” a Dabur spokesperson told ThePrint. Dabur has also said that its honey sample had indeed passed an earlier NMR test. Others said it was an attempt to lower market share of Indian honey. The Indian Express reported that according to data from the National Bee Board, India exported 1.05 lakh metric tonnes of honey in 2017-18, a 200 per cent jump in 12 years. The government also gives a considerable sum to bee farming. Honey is one of the most adulterated food products in the world. But it’s time to put our money where the honey’s at. Because buzz of adulteration won’t sit well with honey consumers. And consume we have, since time immemorial.

Honeygate! Only Saffola, MarkfedSohna, Nature's Nectar among 13 brands pass sugar syrup test, claims CSE

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR In Good CompanyHealthy Office Space Key pointers Out of the 13 brands tested, only three pass the NMR test These three include Saffola, MarkfedSohna and Nature's Nectar 77% of samples found adulterated with sugar Only 5 out of 22 samples pass all tests Indian tests can't detect honey adulteration Alibaba advertises fructose syrups that may go undetected in tests Such samples can bypass Indian standard tests, alleges CSE Indians today are consuming more honey than ever because of its immunity booster properties to protect themselves against COVID-19. But, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has found that almost all brands of honey being sold in Indian markets are adulterated with sugar syrup. Investigations by CSE with laboratory studies in India and Germany found 77 per cent of samples adulterated with sugar syrup. Out of 22 samples tested, only five passed all the tests. CSE had selected 13 top and smaller brands of processed and raw honey being sold in India. Samples of these brands were first tested at the Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) at the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Gujarat. Almost all the top brands (except Apis Himalaya) passed the tests of purity, while a few smaller brands failed the tests to detect C4 sugar - call it basic adulteration using cane sugar. But when the same brands were tested using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) - laboratory tests currently being used globally to check for such modified sugar syrups - almost all big and small brands failed. Out of the 13 brands tested, only three passed the NMR test, which was done by a specialised laboratory in Germany. Honey samples from leading brands such as Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu, Hitkari and Apis Himalaya, all failed the NMR test. Only 3 out of the 13 brands - Saffola, MarkfedSohna and Nature's Nectar (one out of two samples) -- passed all the tests. The German lab that conducted the tests has chosen to stay anonymous. Dabur has refused this allegation. The company's statement said that 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. The statement also had NMR test reports from Germany-based Bruker BioSpin GmbH dated July 16, 2020, stating that Dabur Honey had passed the NMR Test. The business of adulteration has become sophisticated and the Indian standards cannot detect adulteration. This is because Chinese companies have designed sugar syrups to bypass these standards. As of August 1, 2020, NMR tests have been made mandatory in India for honey that is meant for export, suggesting that the Indian government is aware of this adulteration business and the need for more advanced tests. Emami Spokesperson said 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. It did not make any comment on the NMR test, which is the global standard. Apis spokesperson replied that they will not comment immediately but will plan a press conference, date of which is yet to be announced. "What we found was shocking," says Amit Khurana, programme director of CSE's Food Safety and Toxins team. "It shows how the business of adulteration has evolved so that it can pass the stipulated tests in India. Our concern is not just that the honey we eat is adulterated, but that this adulteration is difficult to catch. In fact, we have found that sugar syrups are designed so that they can go undetected."

Honeygate: CSE provides details of honey adulteration investigation to FSSAI

Environment watchdog CSE said it has shared details of its investigation into the “well-organised” honey adulterating business with food regulator FSSAI. The Centre for Science and Environment recently came out with an investigation, which claimed that top brands in the country were selling honey adulterated with sugar syrup. CSE also added that any claim by these companies of meeting all Indian standards “holds limited value” and is “jugglery” of language. It may be noted that Dabur had released a statement yesterday, rejecting the investigation. Others like Emani and Patanjali have denied the findings of the investigation as well. CSE Director General Sunita Narain stated that the investigations have uncovered how honey adulteration business, though sophisticated, is designed to bypass the purity and quality standards laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). In a statement released today, the environment watchdog said it has presented details of the case to FSSAI officials, including chairperson Rita Teotia and CEO Arun Singhal. The details of the investigation including all key findings have been shared, said Narain. "CSE also showed how Chinese companies were openly advertising products to bypass standards on their website; how it had contacted these companies; and how it had procured the sample," it said. CSE informed that FSSAI officials asked about the specific names under which adulterants were being imported to India. CSE said in its investigation how Honeygate has a China connection.

‘Sohna' honey successfully qualifies purity test conducted by CSE

Punjab Markfed, asia's largest cooperative has once again reposed unflinching trust of consumers as its SOHNA honey has successfully withstood the tests of purity conducted by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) successfully. Congratulating the entire team of Markfed on this rare feat, the Punjab Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said it is a matter of great pride that out of 13 top brands available in the country, Markfed was only amongst the three brands Markfed SOHNA, Safola and Nature’s Nectar which passed all the key tests in line with International Standards. Punjab Markfed manufacturing and marketing quality food products viz Basmati rice, Whole Wheat Atta, whole/grounded spices, Amla Murabba & Candy’s, Amla & Aloevera Juice, Gur & Shakkar etc.

Waste management: Why Delhi's Bhalswa could be a pointer

NEW DELHI: The capital’s Bhalswa landfill has effectively used biomining and bioremediation to reduce the height of its waste mountain by 11-12 metres in a year, a study carried out by Centre for Science and Environment has said. According to Clean it Right — Dumpsite Management in India, which has identified the best management practices at the 3,159 dumpsites across the country, bioremediation and biomining are some of the best possible solutions to reduce the height of landfills, with some already recording a drop in their overall height by processing legacy waste. Bhalswa landfill, which receives around 2,400 metric tonnes (MT) of waste every day, is now processing 4,200MT of waste daily through 15 trommel machines, which, till August 18, 2020, had removed around 6,61,454MT legacy waste, the study states.

CSE alleges Dabur, Zandu, Baidyanath among honey brands failed quality test; Dabur rejects report

KEY HIGHLIGHTS 10 out of 13 honey brands --Dabur, Zandu, Baidyanath, Patanjali, Apis Himalaya, and more -- flunk stringent NMR tests Only three brands-Saffola, Markfed Sohna and Nature's Nectar -- passed the test 17 of the 22 samples tested by CSE in German lab failed 77% of the samples found to be adulterated with sugar syrup Indian regulations do not mandate NMR tests for domestic market but they are compulsory for exports In a major expose on rampant adulteration of packaged honey sold in the Indian market, 10 of the 13 brands flunked the stringent Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) test considered as the global gold standard for honey as part of an investigation conducted by a Delhi-based NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The brands whose samples flunked the test include household names like Dabur, yoga guru Ramdev Baba's Patanjali, Zandu, Baidyanath, Apis Himalaya and Hitkari. Three brands -Saffola, Markfed Sohna and Nature's Nectar passed the test. Meanwhile, Dabur has countered the findings of the test saying its honey has passed NMR tests as well. A detailed response is awaited. Emami Spokesperson too said 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. It did not make any comment on the NMR test, which is the global standard. Apis spokesperson replied that they will not comment immediately but will plan a press conference, date of which is yet to be announced.

Honeygate! Only Saffola, MarkfedSohna, Nature's Nectar among 13 brands pass sugar syrup test, claims CSE

Key pointers Out of the 13 brands tested, only three pass the NMR test These three include Saffola, MarkfedSohna and Nature's Nectar 77% of samples found adulterated with sugar Only 5 out of 22 samples pass all tests Indian tests can't detect honey adulteration Alibaba advertises fructose syrups that may go undetected in tests Such samples can bypass Indian standard tests, alleges CSE Indians today are consuming more honey than ever because of its immunity booster properties to protect themselves against COVID-19. But, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has found that almost all brands of honey being sold in Indian markets are adulterated with sugar syrup. Investigations by CSE with laboratory studies in India and Germany found 77 per cent of samples adulterated with sugar syrup. Out of 22 samples tested, only five passed all the tests. CSE had selected 13 top and smaller brands of processed and raw honey being sold in India. Samples of these brands were first tested at the Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) at the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Gujarat. Almost all the top brands (except Apis Himalaya) passed the tests of purity, while a few smaller brands failed the tests to detect C4 sugar - call it basic adulteration using cane sugar. But when the same brands were tested using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) - laboratory tests currently being used globally to check for such modified sugar syrups - almost all big and small brands failed.

The Biden climate plan: what it means for the world

There are many reasons people outside the US are breathing a heavy sigh of relief at Trump’s failure to win a second term. Climate change is just one, but it is a big one. Joe Biden’s climate rollout will not be perfect, and may be significantly stunted by a divided US Congress, but it goes a long way further than even his predecessor Obama went. He has also signalled noteworthy changes in the international outlook of climate action — and the testing ground for this will be the lead up to next year’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. Biden’s climate plan Biden has by far the strongest climate platform any incoming US president has ever had. It has links to, but is narrower than, the Green New Deal, the grassroots climate movement that has helped cement climate action as a major political topic in the US. The platform has a wide array of ambitious domestic goals, many of which will have knock on impacts for other countries due to technology spread. First and foremove, he has pledged to set a net-zero by 2050 target — which would be far more ambitious than any previously set out by the US. This alone could shave 0.1C off global warming by 2100, according to analysts Climate Action Tracker. Many climate experts consider this US goal to be the last strand which can keep the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C within reach, when combined with recent similar pledges by China, the EU, UK, Japan and others. This long term ambition is important to signal direction, but the real test of Biden’s climate plans is what he is able to get done in the next ten years. One area that is especially encouraging is Biden’s plans to embed climate policy across government, including the defense, treasury and transport departments. “From the very beginning of the campaign, when President-elect Biden rolled out his climate plan, he made it clear he sees this as an all-of-government agenda, domestic, economic, foreign policy,” Stef Feldman, Biden’s campaign policy director said in early November. Biden has also set out concrete efforts to address climate justice in the US, including a goal for 40% of overall benefits from clean investment to go to disadvantaged communities. Members of Biden’s transition team – which includes dozens of climate change experts – have reportedly already been asked to identify policies to tackle pollution levels in Black and Latino communities. Another of Biden’s central climate pledges is to put the country on track to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035. The World Resources Institute (WRI) has noted this target can be adopted through regulations under the Clean Air Act (ie without the Senate), advising Biden to also set progressive goals of a 55% cut by 2025 and 75% by 2030, The senate issue One major drag to Biden’s climate plans is, of course, the US Senate. Control of this hangs in the balance ahead of two runoff races in the swing state of Georgia in January. A Democrat win in both would mean a 50-50 tie in the chamber, with vice-president-elect Kamala Harris in control of the deciding vote. A loss in either means a Republican majority It’s worth noting though that Republicans could then lose it in the next 2022 elections halfway through Biden’s term. Without Democratic control of the senate, passing any major climate legislation looks doubtful, and would bring up the old Obama-era question of compromise versus ambition. Areas that are likely to prove especially tricky to pass are implementing a carbon price, clean energy standards and at least parts of Biden’s planned $2 trillion green stimulus plan. However, experts say much of Biden’s climate action plan could still be put into action without the senate via executive order and the US’s federal agencies. Biden has already set out at least 10 executive actions he will take on assuming office in January, including re-implementation of methane emission limits for oil and gas operations and new fuel economy standards for cars. He has also promised a moratorium on new drilling on public lands and waters efficiency, for the federal government to use its own huge financial clout to buy clean energy, and to require public companies to disclose climate risks and emissions in their operations and supply chains. For one thing, even when the US has officially rejoined the Paris Agreement under Biden, its current climate pledge – set under Obama – promises only a completely inadequate pledge to cut 26- 28% by 2025 based on 2005 level. “The US has always been a renegade nation as far as climate action is concerned — the abysmally insignificant targets it has set for itself under the Paris Agreement are a testimony to this,” Indian climate expert Sunita Narain wrote earlier this month. Four years of Trump have also further damaged an already shaky trust in the US’s ability to follow through with its climate commitments. The US has now pulled out of the two major global climate change deals made in the last 25 years (the first being the 1997 Kyoto Protocol).

10 out of 13 honey brands fail ‘purity test’, finds CSE investigation

The investigation also uncovered that Indian companies in the business of honey were importing synthetic sugar syrups from China for adulterating with honey. Honey marketed by prominent brands failed a key test of purity, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has claimed, citing an investigation it conducted on various brands of Indian honey. Current regulations specify around 18 parameters that honey must comply with for producers to label it ‘pure honey.’ CSE food researchers selected 13 brands of raw and processed honey, including Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath and Zandu, and subjected them to tests that are required under national food regulatory laws to be labelled as honey. Most of the brands passed muster but when subjected to one test, called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR, that can ascertain the composition of a product at the molecular level) that was done at a lab in Germany, only three brands (spanning six samples) passed: Saffola, Markfed Sohna and Nature’s Nectar (one sample of two). There were often multiple samples tested for each brand. The NMR test is not required by Indian law for honey that is being marketed locally but is needed for export. “What we found was shocking” said Amit Khurana, programme director of CSE’s Food Safety and Toxins team. “It shows how the business of adulteration has evolved so that it can pass the stipulated tests in India...We found that sugar syrups are so designed that they can go undetected.” ‘No adulteration’ Dabur Honey in a statement denied that its honey was adulterated with sugar syrup. The company furnished a July 20 report from a German company, Bruker, that is listed as a manufacturer of NMR imaging product, and performed a test of Dabur’s honey composition profile. That report, which The Hindu perused, says there was no evidence of sugar syrup. “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% pure without any adulteration,” the accompanying statement noted. The CSE investigation also said some Indian companies in the honey business were importing synthetic sugar syrups from China to adulterate honey.

Most samples of honey found adulterated with modified syrup: CSE

At a time when honey is being touted as an immunity booster against Covid-19, the New Delh- based advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) claimed on Wednesday that 77% of samples from 13 top honey brands in the country were found to have been adulterated with a modified syrup to beat safety tests. Only three of 13 brands --- Saffola, Markfed Sohna and Nature’s Nectar --- passed the internationally accepted Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) tests conducted by a German lab, considered the gold standard to detect modified syrup adulteration of honey, CSE’s director general Sunita Narain told reporters. Narain, who released the findings of a four-month-long investigation, said honey samples of leading brands such as Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu, Hitkary and Apis Himalaya failed the NMR tests. Three of these companies -- Dabur, Patanjali and Emami -- said in separate statements that the honey they produce and market complies with all food safety requirements and their products were 100% safe. A Dabur spokesperson termed the CSE’s report “malicious.” Patanjali said the report was aimed at promoting processed honey. The others didn’t respond. The findings dovetail with practitioners of traditional Indian medicine recommending honey, turmeric, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin and other foods for their immunity boosting properties as the coronavirus disease pandemic rages. Narain said the findings of the NMR tests were worrying because such products could compromise human health in Covid19 times. “We know that the households are consuming more honey because of its intrinsic goodness --- antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Our research has found honey is adulterated with sugar, which could add to risk of Covid-19. Sugar ingestion is linked to obesity and obese people are more vulnerable to life-threatening diseases,” she said.