Longan honey annual output value of 1.2 billion yuan quality evaluation results released

The annual output value of Taiwan's longan honey is as high as over 1.2 billion yuan, but due to the low-price dumping of imported Thai honey, the domestic sales market is facing concerns. In order to promote domestically produced high-quality longan honey, the Council of Agriculture held a "National Longan Honey Quality Evaluation and Results" on the 25th, selecting 20 special prizes and 110 first prizes, introducing the domestic bee product certification mark to the public, and calling on the public to buy more honey with the certification mark to ensure consumer rights and quality.

Council of Agriculture Chairman Chen Baoji (right) carefully examines the certification mark of domestic longan honey and urges consumers to buy more. (Photo by Zhang Shijie)

Huang Meihua, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Food, pointed out that the "2012 National Domestic Longan Honey Quality Evaluation" activity has been underway since early May this year. The five major production areas of Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, Miaoli and Hsinchu will conduct county-level evaluations, and the outstanding ones will then participate in the national evaluation. A total of 148 people entered the second stage of the national evaluation. The initial evaluation selected 142 items that met the CNS national standards and safety quality through instrument testing and analysis; the re-evaluation was conducted by 9 domestic scholars and experts, and those with excellent quality, flavor and color were selected through the re-evaluation, and 20 special prizes and 110 first prizes were selected.

In order to distinguish between real and fake honey and ensure the quality of domestic bee products, the Department of Agriculture and Food has established a domestic bee product certification mark verification system since 2005, established the "Key Points for the Issuance of Domestic Bee Product Certification Marks", and assisted the Taiwan Beekeeping Association in issuing domestic bee product certification marks. Each batch of bee products is first sampled and sealed. Those that pass the inspection for antibiotic and other drug residues will then be issued a use mark by the Taiwan Beekeeping Association based on the number of seals. Each certified bee product has a verification number that can be traced back to the producer. Consumers can look up the producer’s name and phone number online and enjoy the product with peace of mind.

The Council of Agriculture emphasized that the list of award-winning beekeepers and the list of domestic bee product certification marks have been published on the websites of the Council's Department of Agriculture and Food, Miaoli District Agricultural Improvement Station, and Taiwan Beekeeping Association. Consumers who wish to purchase high-quality, pure honey can visit the Department of Agriculture and Food website (http://www.afa.gov.tw) for agricultural product consumption information/domestic bee product section, the Miaoli District Agricultural Improvement Station website (http://www.mdais.gov.tw) for the latest news, or the Taiwan Beekeeping Association (http://www.bee.org.tw, Tel: 04-23713681, 04-23713621) for inquiries.