Chinese honeys in the sights of beekeepers at Leclerc de Saint-Aunès

Eric Lelong, president of the FDSEA beekeeping commission, controls the honeys from Leclerc de Saint-Aunès. ML – E.L.

Around twenty operators responded to the call from the FDSEA of Hérault to control the honey sold on the shelves of the Saint-Aunès hypermarket. ;

They came with their beekeeper outfits and FDSEA flags. Head to the honey section of the Leclerc supermarket in Saint-Aunès. Everyone has stickers with the Chinese flag in their hands.

"The European Anti-Fraud Office carried out a major investigation last year into honey imported into the EU. 74% of controlled Chinese honeys are suspected of being adulterated, that is to say containing sugar", explains Éric Lelong, president of the national beekeeping commission of the union and beekeeper in Aspiran.

"We ask Leclerc to remove them, the consumer will pay 4 € Chinese or Indian honey which was purchased for 0.74 € the kilo!, choke Christian and Julien Thene, father and son, professional beekeepers in Montlaur, in Aude. We would need a profitable price of 6 to 7 € per kilo to live." Low-cost competition from these Asian honeys resulted in the 2023 production being stored in cold storage for the Thene family.& nbsp;

A very vague European origin

Jérémy and Marina Edo from Frontignan highlight the pollination of bees: "We transhume in the Petite Camargue, on 1,000 hectares of market gardening land. Strawberries, melons which are found on the markets of Greater Montpellier. We talk about honey but bees are much more than the final product!" 

The environments which close in, the fires which result from them, are evoked during the "stickage" operation. Jams with blue, white and red logos display, on close inspection, a very vague European origin. 

For the FDSEA, an agreement reached at the end of January on the honey directive to fight against fraud is a step forward, as is the crisis action plan for the sector announced by the ministry in February "is going in the right direction. But the means proposed remain insufficient." 

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