You might pay more for honey labeled "certified organic", but the truth is, there are few federal standards for honey, no government certification and no consequences for making false claims.
For American-made honey, the "organic" claim is highly suspect. Honeybees have a foraging range of several miles, exposing them to pesticides, fertilizers and pollutants on their way back to the hive.
"There is honey out there that is illegally and purposely mislabeled, an adulterated product that is very difficult to stop," said Dwight Stoller, chief executive of Kansas-based Golden Heritage Foods. "There's probably not a lot, but it's still a real issue, and consumers must be aware of that."
Unless shoppers buy honey from a farmers market, where they can talk with the person who raised the bees, they're relying on what's printed on the label. At major supermarkets, consumers might walk away with the highest-quality honey there is, or they could end up with an unlabeled blend, adulterated with cheap sweeteners or illegal antibiotics.
Part of this is because of the government's failure to define what true honey is. The blame is also shared by dishonest honey packers who buy and sell cut-rate foreign honey. Although they're required to put the country of origin on the label, in some cases they don't bother.