THE Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), is launching an investigation into whether honey labelled as Irish is in fact produced within the republic.

The probe comes amid concern that some “Irish” honey comes from abroad.

The FSAI will establish the honey’s true origin by using pollen testing to indicate the type of flora visited by the bees.

“We know the beekeepers’ federation has concerns and we can address those concerns,” said Jeff Moon of the authority. “Specific allegations would have to be investigated by the enforcement agency, however.”

Steps have been taken by the Federation of Irish Beekeepers to combat misleading labelling. It has produced a guaranteed Irish stamp given only to home-grown productions.

“It was put on the market solely for the purpose of fighting the illegal labelling that was going on,” said Michael Wolfe of the federation.

“There’s more Irish honey being sold than is being produced,” said Philip McCabe, the president of the federation, who points out that weather conditions in Ireland limit production.

Production dropped significantly in 1998, when the Varroa mite, a bee parasite, was first introduced to Ireland. The parasite wiped out the country’s entire feral honey bee population and greatly damaged farmed stocks.

In 2003, sugar and honey imports were worth €119m according to the Central Statistics Office.

Boyne Valley Foods, which sells both Irish honey and imported honey, differentiates between its sources. On Boyne Valley jars of imported honey, the origin is cited as “a blend of non-EC honeys”.

“We did the FSAI course to find out exactly what we had to put on our labels,” said Teresa McCabe of Boyne Valley Foods. “We have pure Irish honey; it’s marked on the label. And then we have Boyne Valley honey, and that’s a blend.”

Separately, the FSAI has warned pharmacies and health food shops to take illegally irradiated products off the shelves. In a recent survey, it found that unlabelled irradiated herbal food supplements, not permitted in the European Union, were being sold in Ireland. Irradiation, a stronger form of microwaving, is used to kill bacteria in foodstuffs.

For the second time in the past two years, several products were found to be in breach of regulations: Dong Quai sold by Boots, Kyolic Garlic by Quest, Siberian Ginseng by FSC and Aloe Vera super-strength tablets by Aloe Pura.

The FSAI has warned the Irish Health Trade Association, the Irish Pharmaceutical Union and the Irish Association of Health Stores, that if it finds irradiated products on sale again, their members will face prosecution.

“The good thing about it was we were speaking to the converted because the health food stores don’t want any irradiated products, labelled or not,” said Pat O’Mahony, the chief specialist in biotechnology at the FSAI.

Active enzymes in herbal food supplements can be damaged or destroyed by irradiation, affecting the efficacy of the product.

“Primarily the concern for the FSAI is not a food safety issue, it’s a labelling issue. For ourselves it’s more important than that because we don’t accept irradiation in our products,” said Jonathan Griffith, the regulatory affairs officer at the health trade association.

The EU allows irradiation under certain circumstances. But the process is strictly regulated to prevent it being used to cover up unhygienic practices.

“The general consensus is nobody wants it to be used as a clean-up method for poor hygiene, poor production or manufacturing processes,” said O’Mahony.

“If the food is labelled, then you know the food has been irradiated in an authorised facility.”

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