It doesn’t say so on the label, but Aldi’s Mixed Blossom honey is mostly Chinese.

That’s what customer service told me today when I rang to enquire.

“Its 60% Chinese and 40% Australian” she said.

I rang customer service to ask about it because the labels don’t say where the honey comes from.

 But I was also confused about the difference between Aldi’s 375gms squeeze pack and its 1 kg tubs. The label on the 1 kg tubs says it has at least 30% Australian ingredients, but its 40% on the smaller 375gms squeeze pack.

“Is it different honey” I asked?

She said the information was the same for both – 60% Chinese and 40% Australian.

Beekeepers are reporting likely price increases and supply shortages for leatherwood and manuka honey later this year.

Unseasonably wet weather in February 2017 hit leatherwood production in Tasmania, whilst unsuitable conditions have also been blamed for a poor Manuka honey harvest in New Zealand.

New scientific research has been published showing that many Australian manuka honeys are at least as potent as those produced in New Zealand.

Moreover some of them appear to be even stronger, with significant potential for use in medical and health related applications.

Manuka – the biography of an extraordinary honey

By Cliff van Eaton

When Aaron Phipps appeared on the BBC televisions Healthcheck programme back in late 2000, his amazing story was a milestone in the world’s awakening to the extraordinary healing power of Manuka honey.

The Southampton teenager had contracted meningitis, and then meningococcal septicaemia. Skin grafts failed to take, wounds refused to heal and at one point he was in such pain that doctors put him an induced coma for two weeks.

Finally, after both his legs and the tips of all his fingers had been amputated, and after nine months of torment, his wounds were treated with Manuka honey.  They healed in 3 weeks.

Phipps has gone on to become a champion disabled rugby player, representing the UK at the 2012 Olympics and in 2016, set more incredible firsts by crawling and climbing his way to the top of Mount Kilamanjaro in Africa.

But, as Cliff van Eaton recounts in his excellent book, it was his BBC interview that prompted the first really significant spike in demand for Manuka honey in the UK.

This simple recipe combines three of my favourite foods – leatherwood honey, chocolate and berries.

It takes about 20 minutes in preparation time,  involves about 5 minutes of heating in a saucepan on top of the stove, and will be ready to serve after 4-6 hours in the freezer (or overnite).

Honey imports are running at record high levels according to data released by the Australian Honeybee Industry Council (AHBIC).
In its latest (June 2016) newsletter AHBIC said honey imports into Australia reached a record 8,127 tonnes in the nine months to the end of March 2016.
This is a 22% increase, or more than 1,435 tonnes up on the total of 6,692 tonnes of honey imported into Australia in the corresponding period in 2015.

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