Abia monarch warns of fake honey health risks, urges NAFDAC crackdown nationwide
Eze Cyril Ogbenna, traditional ruler of Uzi Amizi autonomous community in Olokoro, Umuahia South LGA of Abia State, warned in an interview with News Abia on Sunday (July 19, 2026) during National Urban Beekeeping Day celebrations that fake and adulterated honey circulating in Nigerian markets poses serious health risks, including kidney and liver failure, and deprives honest beekeepers of deserved income, undermining the integrity of Nigeria's honey industry.
He urged NAFDAC, health regulators, and security agencies to immediately reinforce market surveillance, strengthen quality assurance, and launch a major crackdown on those producing and selling adulterated honey nationwide, calling out traders who mix dead bees with fake honey to pass it off as genuine.
The monarch advised consumers to purchase honey only from reputable and trusted producers, cooperatives, and registered outlets to discourage counterfeiters and support genuine beekeepers, emphasizing this would help checkmate rising kidney and liver failure cases linked to adulterated honey. He encouraged Nigerian youths to consider beekeeping as an affordable, eco-friendly venture capable of generating sustainable income.
With consumers urged to verify honey sources and authorities urged to act, will you check your honey's source and buy only from registered producers to protect your health and support honest beekeepers?