Fake honey costs importer $30K

False claims about honey products has cost food importer Basfoods $30,600 in penalties after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) instigated legal proceedings against the company.

The ACCC claimed that Basfoods misrepresented its Victorian Honey product as being natural honey produced by bees when it in fact mainly consisted of sugars from plants including corn and sugar cane. Despite being labelled as a Victorian product, the ‘honey’ had in fact been imported from Turkey.

Basfoods has provided an enforceable undertaking to the ACCC in which it has admitted that its conduct contravened the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). It has also promised only to sell product as honey if it is entirely produced by honey bees, and to regularly test its products.

The company will also publish a range of corrective notices outlining its contravention of the ACL.

“It is difficult for consumers to test claims by traders that a certain product is actually ‘honey’ or is from a certain place of origin,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

“False claims of this kind not only mislead consumers but can also disadvantage competing honey suppliers, particularly those who source honey locally within Australia.

“Honey suppliers should now be on notice that they must have a basis for selling a product as honey, which likely should include tests to confirm the product is in fact honey produced entirely by honey bees. The ACCC is aware of concerns in relation to other suppliers and products labelled as honey and will pursue these further with the benefit of the outcome in this matter.”

From July 2011 to December 2013, Basfoods supplied 180,649 one-kilogram tubs and 1126 four-kilogram tubs of its Victorian Honey product.