KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — The Health Ministry said its own monitoring of honey products in the market since 2016 found only nearly 6 per cent of them did not measure up to its standards.
Following claims that nine in 10 honey sold in Malaysia are fake or artificial, the ministry said actions have been taken against the products which did not fulfil its criteria and its manufacturers.
“The ministry through our Food Safety and Quality Programme has always monitored honey products in the market. A total of 769 samples of honey products from various brands were taken from 2016 until now.
“The result of the monitoring found that 45 samples (5.85 per cent) of the products did not comply with the standards under Food Regulations 1985 and enforcement action has been taken against the companies and products," it said in a statement here.
It said Section 13(2)(e) of the Regulations provides that no person shall prepare or sell any food that has been mixed without complying with the standards or specifications prescribed by any regulation made under this act.
“A person who is found to be in violation of this provision and upon conviction may be fined not exceeding RM20,000 or imprisoned for a period not exceeding five years or both,” it added.
The action was taken following a recent study quoting a senior lecturer in the Neuroscience Department at Universiti Sains Malaysia's School of Medical Sciences, Dr Zulkifli Mustafa.
In the study, he asserted that 90 per cent of the nation's honey market, which includes stingless bee honey, currently comprises fake goods.
In determining the authenticity of the honey products, the ministry further said that it is currently collaborating with the Malaysian Nuclear Agency and the Agriculture Department to determine the purity of honey using the isotope method recommended by the Codex Alimentarius, which is a collection of internationally adopted food standards.
“The Health Ministry also offers an Authentic Food Certification Scheme which aims to recognise food products that are certified authentic or genuine and meet the criteria set in this Certification Scheme.
“This includes honey products, meat, coffee and swiftlet nests. To date, seven companies have obtained Authentic Certification for honey products from the Health Ministry,” it said.
The ministry further said that honey products must comply with the standards that had been set in Regulations 130, Food Regulations 1985.
It explained that honey products must contain no less than 60 per cent of reduced sugar, have a sucrose content of no more than 10 per cent, and must not contain more than 80 mg of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) per kg of product.
