Best buy: Best buy is based on a high score and a reasonable price. Dabur is the best buy. It scored the highest on lab and sensory tests as well as on labelling parameters. It was also in the mid-price range.

If any product in food and medicine deserves pride of place, it’s honey. This multipurpose product forms a major ingredient for many ayurvedic preparations. But from the beehive to the bottle, it’s a long journey. Is the final product pure or adulterated? Is it wholesome or harmful? Does it meet the standards? The Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), Ahmedabad, tested 17 brands from across the country for adulteration, quality, nutritive value, water content, etc. The brands tested were Amrut, Baidyanath, Brij, Dabur, Dhanvantari, Himalayan, Hyness, Indian, KVIC Cochin, KVIC Mumbai, Madh Sagar, Madhur, Mehsons, Pushp, Samskritamadhu, Shreejee and West Bengal Bee Keeper’s Association (WBBKA). The results of the most popular brands are reproduced in the TABLE.

There are two main types of honey in India, according to the Central Bee Research and Training Institute. One is apiary honey that is produced in apiaries where bees are kept and collected by the modern extraction method. It is transparent and free from foreign materials. The other kind is forest honey collected by squeezing honey combs in the forests. It tends to be turbid due to the presence of pollen, wax, bee parts and other plant materials. The samples of honey were tested against the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, the specifications laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Agricultural Produce Grading and Marking Act (Agmark). The results were compared to the Codex Alimentarius — the international standard. CERS found the Indian standards to be more comprehensive than Codex although the variation in standards was low.

For more information contact: CERS, Ahmedabad, e-mail: cerc@wilnetonline.net