Importation and adulteration of Greek Honey

A question was submitted by Deputy Head of the Rural Development Sector of SYRIZA-PS, Olympia Teligioridou and TDepartment Head Stavros Arachovitis, with the signatures of 45 more members of his party SYRIZA-PS, to the Minister of Rural Development and Food, for the illegal "Greekification" and adulteration of Greek honey, which, on the one hand, lead to a dramatic decline in the revenue of Greek music producers and, on the other hand, mislead end consumers regarding the origin and quality of the product.

The question calls on the Minister to continue the efforts initiated by the SYRIZA-PS, by taking immediate measures to step up inspections aimed at combating honey adulteration and illegal “Greekification,” as well as Despite the New Democracy party’s grand rhetoric about cracking down on the «counterfeiting» of Greek agricultural products, the New Democracy government did not continue these efforts.

Ensuring the income of Greek producers and protecting consumers, These issues must be a primary concern of the state, and fraudulent and illegal practices must be punished.

Here is the question:

The industry beekeeping It is one of the fastest-growing sectors of agricultural production in our country, with products of exceptional quality and high nutritional value. Greek honey possesses unique organoleptic characteristics, which are due to the climatic and geographical conditions prevailing in our country.

The illegal “Greekification” and adulteration of the product is detrimental to both producers and consumers. On the one hand, it leads to a dramatic reduction in the income of Greek honey producers, and on the other, it misleads end consumers regarding the origin and quality of the product.

The intensification of inspections under the SYRIZA government was initiated in collaboration with various regulatory bodies, such as SYKEAAP, SDOE, YEDDE, EFET, etc. The detection of numerous cases of adulteration and illegal “Greek-labeling” of honey has yielded multiple benefits for the benefit of both consumers and producers.

SYRIZA's effort to regulate the honey supply chain was not continued by the New Democracy government, despite all the grand rhetoric about cracking down on the «imitation» of Greek agricultural products. The lack of adequate controls creates conditions of unfair competition for Greek producers, as they cannot compete in the market against unregulated, cheap products of dubious quality—even in public procurement tendersand institutions.

These factors, combined with the blow suffered by the beekeeping industry as a result of the health crisis, have led producers into financial hardship. The suspension of open-air markets, the closure of restaurants, and the decline in tourist traffic led to a sharp drop in sales.

Because, Greek beekeepers are facing additional financial difficulties amid the pandemic,

Because, due to the inability to challenge the «Hellenizations,» Greek music producers, even in Greek government tenders, are “automatically excluded” because they are unable to offer low/competitive prices,

Because, identifying fraudulent and illegal conduct must be a primary concern of the state, and violators must be punished in order to protect producers and consumers,

The Minister is asked:

1. What steps do you intend to take to step up inspections aimed at combating honey adulteration and illegal “Greek-labeling”?;
2. Do you intend to strengthen the inspection mechanisms and testing laboratories by hiring specialized permanent staff in order to ensure the protection of consumers as well as the incomes of Greek?;
3. How many inspections have been conducted on bee products to combat the mislabeling of products as Greek and to ensure the quality of honey sold on the market during the pandemic?;

The questioning Members of Parliament

Olympia Teligioridou

Arachovitis Stavros

Avramakis Eleftherios

Alexiadis Tryfon

Ioannis Amanatidis

Anagnostopoulou Athanasia (Sia)

Avlonitis Alexandros - Christos

Vardakis Socrates

George Varemenos

Vetta Kalliopi

Gara Anastasia (Natasha)

Gkiolas Ioannis

Eleftheriadou Sultana (Tania)

Konstantinos Zachariadis

Higoumenidis Nikolaos

Thrapsaniotis Emmanouil

Kalamatianos Dionysios

Karasarlidou Euphrosyne (Froso)

Kasimatis Irini (Nina)

Kafantari Haroula (Hara)

Kokalis Vasileios

Panagiotis Kouroumblis

Spyridonas Lappas

Malama Sunday

Mamoulakis Charalambos (Haris)

Constantine Markou

Meikopoulos Alexandros

Barkas Konstantinos

Moraitis Athanasios (Thanos)

Notopoulou Ekaterini (Katerina)

Maria Xenogiannakopoulou – Eliza (Mariliza)

Papadopoulos Athanasios (Sakis)

Papanatsiou Aikaterini

Poulou Panagiou (Giota)

Santorini Nektarios

Sarakiotis Ioannis

Skoufa Elissavet (Betty)

Syrmalenios Nikolaos

Tzoufi Meropi

Triantafyllidis Alexandros

Tsipras George

Famellos Socrates

Filis Nikolaos

Dimitrios Charitou

Hatzigiannakis Miltiadis (Miltos)

Rallia Christidou

Psychogios George