The confirmation of authenticity and quality through laboratory analysis is the most important condition for placing honey on the market. Boris Varžak fully adheres to this requirement, whose honey production business Varžak M only puts honey on the market that has passed the strictest laboratory tests.
Varžak’s honey is tested at EFICS (Eurofins Food Integrity Control Services), the world’s most modern honey analysis laboratory in Bremen, Germany, and is used in production after passing physical-chemical and microbiological analysis, heavy metal analysis, and authenticity testing, as well as organoleptic analysis, which determines food properties through human senses. Each jar of Varžak’s honey is then assigned a unique LOT number that confirms the exceptional quality of the honey.
Three values
He explains that the LOT number unites the analysis data and those obtained during filling, so everything is known about the final product placed on the market. If the honey does not meet Varžak M’s standards, he emphasizes that it cannot go into production because he adheres to stricter standards than those prescribed by regulations. That it is a food product subject to all legal provisions and the highest level of safety and quality is evidenced by the IFS (International Food Standard, which confirms food safety and quality) certificate and the ‘Controlled Quality’ label from the Dr. Andrija Štampar Institute and ‘Croatian Quality’ from the Croatian Chamber of Commerce on his honey.
– We quickly realized that Croatia is a small market and that without exports we would not achieve much. So we first targeted the nearby markets of Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where it is easier to do business because there are no language barriers. This creates a certain trust that is then easier to establish among partners. Given that we have proven ourselves to be a reliable and good partner here, we began to look at the German market, the largest European consumer of honey. We thought about how a foreigner would want to sit down with us at the table if they know nothing about us, and we found the answer in showcasing our three main values: reliability, traceability, and quality. We raised the production standard and proved it with certificates such as HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point – a self-monitoring system in food work by identifying and preventing hazards) and IFS, won gold awards at international quality competitions, elevated product branding to a higher level, all at a competitive price. We slowly reached Germany, but also crossed the ‘pond’ to the United States and Canada. Currently, we export to eight countries. In doing so, we have never violated our three fundamental values – Varžak is clear.
The bee dance in a jar
Dissolving honey in a glass of water and heating it in a microwave to see the honeycomb sign, turning the honey, and following the air bubble that travels to the top or ants that only eat natural honey are methods of supposed honey quality testing that for Varžak are nothing more than children’s fairy tales. However, children’s fairy tales are not customer deceptions, which have become a common occurrence in the honey market. Today, counterfeiters are not amateurs like before, who mixed honey and sugar syrups, but, according to Varžak’s claims, use more sophisticated technological processes such as melting sugar with acids to obtain a product that at first glance is almost identical to real honey. They have become so good at it that even Varžak M’s experts, such as graduated agronomists and food technologists, cannot recognize whether it is real bee honey. Because of all this, Varžak does not deviate from honey quality testing.
