Propolis sales are three times as high as the production. Counterfeiters say that domestic instruments cannot detect

Propolis is a kind of gelatinous substance that bees collect from plant spores or tree trunks and mix them with their own secretions
.
It is recognized as having health care functions such as regulating blood lipids, blood pressure, and blood sugar

Propolis is a kind of gelatinous substance that bees collect from plant spores or tree trunks and mix them with their own secretions
.
It is recognized as having health care functions such as regulating blood lipids, blood pressure, and blood sugar

According to figures released by the China Bee Products Association, the annual output of propolis in China is about 300 tons
.
However, according to industry insiders, the actual annual sales of propolis in China is nearly 1,000 tons

Changge City, Henan Province is a well-known propolis production base in the country.

90% of the so-called propolis is gum

According to the sales staff of Henan Yufengyuan Bee Industry Co.
, Ltd.
, most of the pure natural propolis is fake
.

According to the person in charge of the company, their factory produces propolis products such as propolis soft capsules.
The raw materials used in their factory are called "purified propolis" locally.
The content of propolis is as high as 95%.
However, in the purification and processing workshop of this factory, the reporter did not See so-called natural propolis raw materials
.
In the corner of the workshop, there are two large pots in which a black gelatinous liquid is being boiled

This person in charge admitted that the amount of real natural propolis is scarce, and the price of purified propolis is as high as more than 700 yuan per kilogram
.
It is indeed not natural propolis that is being brewed here, but a relatively cheap glue, only 160 yuan per kilogram

At Henan Changxing Bee Industry Co.
, Ltd.
, which has an annual output value of tens of millions of yuan and the largest propolis production in the country, a worker admitted that this black liquid is not propolis, but gum
.

This soaked "gum" liquid is processed into a black gel-like solid through multiple processes such as filtration, precipitation, and purification, and then can be sold after simple packaging
.
The person in charge of the factory later admitted that the so-called "purified propolis" produced by their factory was processed using this "gum", 90% of which is "gum", and the minimum price is 140 yuan per kilogram

The general manager of Henan Weikang Bee Industry Co.
, Ltd.
said that the most advanced equipment in China cannot be detected
.

It is understood that the so-called "gum" is actually a resin jelly that uses poplar buds as raw materials and is manually extracted and processed
.
The "National Standard of Propolis" clearly stipulates that any resin jelly that is not collected by bees and is artificially processed cannot be called propolis, and it is not allowed to be added to real propolis

Counterfeiters claim to have principles and cannot harm people

Ironically, some manufacturers even have a set of so-called "principles" for the use of "gum" to counterfeit propolis
.

The general manager of Henan Yufengyuan Bee Industry Co.
, Ltd.
said, “I don’t know what others do, but I have a principle, at least not to harm people, not to cause harm to the human body
.
This is absolutely safe
.
If there are any problems.
.
.
because This includes honey.
We’ve been making honey for many years
.
We
’re making food, and the country’s management has been strict in recent years .
You
can’t do things that are bad conscience if you make food, and you can’t do something with bad conscience .
This is at least a bottom line, you can’t do something.
A matter of bad conscience
.
"

During further investigation, the reporter found that if the gum was turned into propolis, the manufacturer had to secretly add some mysterious raw materials to Riga
.
One of the yellow powders is quercetin, in addition to rutin
.

It is said that both quercetin and rutin are artificially extracted flavonoids, which are mainly added in the process of using "gum" to produce so-called "purified propolis" according to customer requirements to increase the total flavonoid content
.

The so-called "flavonoids" are collectively referred to as "total flavonoids" in the "National Standard for Propolis"
.
According to national standards, the content of "total flavonoids" is an important indicator for testing propolis
.
The reason why propolis has good health effects is that propolis contains a lot of flavonoids, but these substances cannot be synthesized in the human body and can only be ingested from the diet
.

The general manager of Henan Fengyuan Bee Products Co.
, Ltd.
said that this is an unspoken rule, as long as the market can be sold, anyway, this formula has been through for ten years, and many manufacturers have done it like this
.

Fake propolis is also on sale in Hangzhou

From the sales receipts provided by the general manager, the reporter saw that as many as a dozen customers have purchased this so-called "purified propolis", among which many well-known manufacturers, the purchase price is mostly more than 200 yuan per kilogram
.

This so-called "purified propolis", which sells for more than 200 yuan per kilogram, is mostly "gum" except for about 18% of the propolis
.
It is said that Zhejiang Quanjin Pharmaceutical Co.
, Ltd.
is also one of its customers
.

A few days later, the reporter found Quanjin Pharmaceutical Co.
, Ltd.
in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
.
This company has more than 40 years of professional background in pharmaceutical production and research, and currently mainly produces dozens of health products such as full gold propolis soft capsules
.
The company declared in the product manual that the raw material used was "Brazilian natural propolis"
.
A sales person has repeatedly emphasized that the raw materials of this propolis are genuine
.

The sales person in charge of Zhejiang Quanjin Pharmaceutical Co.
, Ltd.
said, "We use the best raw material for propolis
.
Every step must be carefully studied
.
"

Afterwards, the reporter came to the raw material warehouse of this factory and saw a batch of raw materials piled up at the door very familiar.
The packaging was also wrapped in a white woven bag with a shipping note from "Changge" in Henan Province to "Hangzhou" in Zhejiang Province
.

It turns out that this batch of raw materials is exactly the kind of so-called "purified propolis" that the reporter saw in Henan Changge Fengyuan Company.
The purchase price is only 200 yuan per kilogram and contains a lot of "gum" ingredients, but this raw material has arrived.
Quanjin Pharmaceutical Co.
, Ltd.
has become the so-called "Brazilian natural propolis"
.

In the GMP workshop of this factory, this raw material is further processed and transformed into a so-called full gold propolis soft capsule
.
It was promoted as "Brazilian natural propolis" through a beautifully printed product manual, and then sold in pharmacies in some large and medium cities such as Beijing and Hangzhou
.
In Hangzhou Tiantianhao Pharmacy, the price of full gold propolis soft capsules is as high as 148 yuan per bottle
.
The pharmacy salesperson claimed that this propolis works well
.