Honey alternatives under criticism: The North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center has reviewed vegan honey substitute products and criticized high prices for rather simple ingredients.

Four points of criticism about honey alternatives

The main points of criticism are:

  • It contains up to eight additives - especially many sweeteners.
  • The imaginary names of the products are very close to the name protection for honey and can confuse consumers.
  • At an average of 20 euros per kilo, the honey alternatives are significantly more expensive than honey and other vegan syrups.
  • Only the organic substitute products contain no additives or flavors and perform better.

Honey is very popular in Germany. Anyone who is vegan or would like to avoid animal products for other reasons can now find some alternatives on the market that reflect the trend towards a plant-based diet. They are said to be a vegan substitute for and similar to honey. The North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center has checked what is in the plant-based variants and what should be taken into account when purchasing them.  

For the market check in November 2022, the nutrition experts from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center looked around supermarkets and online retailers. They checked a total of eight vegan honey alternatives, two of which were organic products. The composition, labeling and price of the products were evaluated.

Honey or wonig?

Honey is a naturally sweet substance produced by honey bees. The term “honey” is therefore only reserved for these products. The plant-based alternative products are very similar to honey, especially visually. They are officially sold as syrups, spreads or dessert sauces. However, for the majority of products, these names are hidden on the back of the packaging. On the front, however, almost all alternative products prominently advertise with fantasy names such as “Ohnig”, “Honix”, “Hvoney” or “Wonig”. These differ only slightly from the protected name “honey”; half of the products even depict honey dippers.

This can be confusing for consumers. Important as an orientation for people who follow a vegan diet: All products indicate in the main field of vision that they are vegan, i.e. that they do not contain any animal ingredients. However, with two products this is not clearly noticeable at first glance. And only two alternatives clearly indicate on the front the relevant ingredients that are intended to replace honey, which is important information for consumers.

Twice just water with additives

Half of the honey alternatives are based primarily on tapioca syrup from the cassava root or rice syrup. “Two products actually only contain flavored water with additives – and that for a hefty price,” says Nora Dittrich, who supervised the market check as a nutrition consultant at the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center. The two organic products mainly contain cane sugar and small amounts of juice and plant extracts. “Real” honey, which is produced as a naturally sweet substance by honey bees, consists of various types of sugar, especially fructose and glucose. It may contain a maximum of 20 percent water and no substances other than honey.  

Most alternative products contain a whole range of additives and flavors, in addition to sweeteners and thickeners, also colors, acidulants, preservatives and a stabilizer. The frontrunners each contain eight additives (two of which are not correctly and clearly labeled) and (honey) flavoring. Only the two organic products based on cane sugar do not contain any additives or flavors.

Nevertheless, none of the products reviewed make a relevant contribution to the supply of essential nutrients. The same applies to other syrups, fruit juices, honey or table sugar - they are among the “extras” at the top of the food pyramid and should be used as sparingly as possible.

Criticism of the price

The substitute products take advantage of the trend towards vegan foods, but are completely overpriced from the point of view of the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center: On average, consumers pay 20.77 euros per kilogram for them. In comparison, a kilo of honey costs on average around 13.80 euros.

“If you put the work of honey bees and beekeepers into perspective, the price of the vegan honey substitute can hardly be justified, especially since these products hardly contain any expensive ingredients. “Incidentally, other vegan syrups, often organic, are usually also cheaper,” criticizes Nora Dittrich. A little tonka bean here and a little dandelion extract there – according to the NRW consumer advice center, that cannot be a sufficient argument for such a high price. Tip: Vegan honey substitutes can also be made cheaply yourself; there are a variety of different recipes online.

Demands from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center

  • Vegan foods should be described in such a way that consumers can make a conscious choice when purchasing. To provide clear information about vegan honey alternatives, the statement “vegan” (or corresponding images) and the main substitute ingredient used should be legible and clearly visible on the front page.
  • In order to reduce the risk of confusion with honey, the NRW Consumer Center believes that the name should be clear, understandable and precise on the front of the product and not imaginative product names and puns that only deviate minimally from the protected name “honey”.
  • Visual representations such as honey dippers and flowers or claims such as “bee friendly” should be avoided.
  • The filling quantity of substitute products should, as is also the case for honey and syrup intended as a spread, be specified by weight in grams and not by volume in milliliters. This was not the case for two products in the market check and makes it difficult to compare prices and nutritional values.

This might also be of interest : “Died suddenly” – died suddenly. An international fact check.

Further information and links:
More about the market check at: www.verbraucherzentrale.nrw/veganer-honigersatz , and here


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