| Abstract: |
A former Auckland honey exporter and its operations manager have been fined a total of $372,500 in a landmark case involving the deliberate adulteration of honey, in order to pass it off as high value Mānuka honey. Earlier this month, the company, Evergreen Life Ltd, pleaded guilty to a total of four charges (3 of which are representative) with Jason Lee pleading guilty to three charges (1 of which is representative) under the Animal Products Act before they were sentenced today in the Auckland District Court. The Ministry for Primary Industries began investigating the company in 2016 after an anonymous tip off that chemicals were being added to Evergreen’s low grade Mānuka and non- Mānuka honey. It was subsequently identified by the investigation that the synthetic chemicals, methylglyoxal and dihydroxyacetone were being added to honey. |
