You’ve heard of money laundering. Well, California’s honey industry has been hit by honey laundering.
If you buy honey in California, you may not be getting what it claims to be on the label. It may say it's pure, but it actually also contains some filler. A Ventura County legislator is offering a sweet solution to a situation which has left beekeepers with a sour taste.
Democratic Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin of Thousand Oaks introduced AB 519, which would require factual labeling on where the honey comes from, and what it contains. Irwin says independent testing shows honey laundering is a real issue in the state. She says a study showed more than a third of honey sampled wasn’t what it claimed to be, with supposedly pure honey containing fillers.
California is one of the top honey producers in the nation, and Ventura County produces about 20% of the state’s honey.
