Honey: UFC-Que Choisir files a complaint against a French giant and accuses it of deceiving consumers

This is a UFC-Que Choisir fight. The consumer association warns against marketing “consisting of excessively Frenchizing (French Washing) too many honey products mixed with foreign ones, or even purely and simply imported“By analyzing the labels of numerous jars, UFC-Que Choisir volunteers noted that there were certain misleading information on the packaging.”On one product, the mention of honey from our terroirs combined with the visual of a typical French village, with a large map of France on the lid, clearly suggests that the honey comes from France, when in reality it is harvested in Spain… and only partly in France“, reports UFC-Que Choisir.

Specifically, the UFC-Que Choisir points out several products from the Famille Michaud Apiculteurs brand which display statements suggesting that the honey is exclusively French when it sometimes comes entirely from abroad, thus misleading consumers: “On several products, the mention of the French origin of the company as well as the Pyrenees location of potting are overemphasized on the packaging and the lid, while the honey comes from Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, from Spain, or sometimes even Argentina or Vietnam“, warns UFC-Que Choisir.

Dr Arnaud Cocaul, nutritionist, recalls the importance of choosing honey from a local producer: “We must promote the controlled designation of origin and the protected designation of origin. We must stop deceiving consumers and losing their trust“. The nutritionist also advises to be wary of a price that is too low, “you pay for quality“.

Honey, many benefits

Rich in trace elements and vitamins, honey is interesting and can replace sugar in the diet. “Honey helps diversify sugar intake. Be careful, it's still sugar so you shouldn't exceed a reasonable quantity“, underlines Dr Arnaud Cocaul. Thanks to its strong sweetening power, a smaller dose of honey provides a greater sweet taste than refined white sugar.

Among its other benefits, it is used to relieve coughs, limit bloating, treat small wounds, etc. “Honey should not be heated as it loses some of its nutritional benefits. Also be careful with young children since it is not recommended before the age of one year.“, recalls the nutritionist.