Chinese syrup in honey? Check before you buy

KOLKATA: Drinking sugar syrup in the guise of honey can cause adverse health impact, including obesity, diabetes, heart diseases, infections and inflammation, alerted health experts as they issued a warning following the alarming findings of an investigation carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that revealed the presence of sugar syrup in branded honey that is 0being consumed in copious quantities post Covid to boost immunity.

The probe by CSE, a public interest research and advocacy group, revealed that 17 out of the 22 honey brands tested had high content of sugar syrup as adulterants.


“Pure honey has innumerable benefits, including a healing property for diabetes patients. Sugar, on the contrary, can interfere with the way the body fights the disease. Bacteria and yeast feed on sugar. So excess glucose in the body causes these organisms to build up and cause infections,” said preventive medicine expert Debasish Basu.

The sugar syrup, CSE’s probe has revealed, was manufactured in India by a Chinese firm. The syrup was clevery designed to avoid detection. They got revealed only when tested using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR).

“Sugar actually harbours infection. This is why we advise against sugar consumption if any infection is detected. This is a criminal breach of trust of consumers who consume honey thinking it has immunity-boosting properties,” said Swati Samadder, a dietician.

Intake of extra sugar in the guise of honey can trigger a series of health issues right from obesity, hypertension, atroprosis to cancer. So consumption of adulterated honey becomes counter-productive. “You are unknowingly taking in huge quantities of calories without the essential nutrients,” said Koushik Saha, endocrinologist at ILS Hospital.

“Adding sugar to honey means intake of extra sugar. Extra sugar means obesity that can cause hosts of conditions like diabetes, hypertension, heart ailments, stroke and arthritis,” said internal medicine specialist Arindam Biswas. “Ideally, the maximum level of sugar a normal adult should not consume is 30gm (seven tea spoons a day),” added Biswas.