The Truth About Supermarket Honey (And Why Most of It Isn’t Real)

Walk down any supermarket aisle and you’ll find honey that looks golden, smooth, and endlessly shelf-stable. The labels say things like "natural," "pure," or "organic." But behind that polished appearance lies a very different story.

Here’s the truth: most supermarket honey isn’t real honey. At least, not the kind your body truly benefits from.

What Supermarket Honey Really Is

A huge percentage of the honey sold in major retailers is pasteurised, ultra-filtered, and blended from multiple sources. Often, it includes honey from outside the UK, sometimes even outside the EU, labelled vaguely as a "blend of EU and non-EU honeys."

It may also contain added sugar syrups, a practice that’s hard to detect without lab testing. These syrups mimic the texture and sweetness of real honey but strip away all the natural enzymes, pollen, and nutrients.

The result? A product that looks and tastes sweet, but is closer to syrup than honey.

What’s Lost in the Process

When honey is ultra-processed, it goes through high heat and fine filtration. This does make it smoother and extends its shelf life, but it also removes:

• Pollen (important for allergy relief and traceability)

• Enzymes (which help with digestion and antimicrobial effects)

• Antioxidants (that fight inflammation and oxidative stress)

In other words, the stuff that makes honey actually good for you.

Why This Matters

Most people buy honey thinking it's a healthier alternative to sugar. But if you’re eating supermarket honey that’s been stripped of its natural qualities, you're essentially paying a premium for something that behaves more like processed syrup.

Not only does it lack functional benefits, but it can also mislead people into thinking they’re making a healthy choice when they’re not.

How to Spot Fake or Overprocessed Honey

Here are a few red flags to watch out for:

• Overly clear, runny consistency that never crystallises

• Blend of EU and non-EU honeys on the label (no transparency)

• No mention of raw or unfiltered anywhere

• Always looks and tastes exactly the same no matter the season

True raw honey varies in colour, texture, and taste depending on the floral source and season. It may crystallise, darken over time, or carry floral and earthy notes you won't find in bland supermarket blends.

The Raw Honey Club Difference

At Raw Honey Club, we don’t do blends, heat treatments, or shelf-life tricks. Our honey is single-origin, unfiltered, and traceable to the region and the harvest. It changes with the seasons, just like real food should.

Because we believe honey should still be honey.

Ready to experience the real thing?