Bee product's NZ source in doubt

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A company has been charged for allegedly claiming its bee pollen product was sourced from New Zealand when it actually came from China.

The Commerce Commission today announced it has brought 22 charges against Topline International Limited and a further 22 against its director Jeffrey Bernard Cook over the company's NatureBee Potentiated Bee Pollen (NatureBee) supplement.

The charges were filed in the Auckland District Court under the Fair Trading Act.

Topline is an Auckland-based direct marketing company which sells bee-related health supplements and cosmetics. NatureBee is its flagship product.

The commission alleges the company made the claims on product labels, on promotional material and in an infomercial.

It said the bee pollen was sourced in China and the transformation of the pollen into "potentiated bee pollen" also took place in China.

"The Chinese bee pollen was put into capsules in China and was subsequently imported into New Zealand," the commission said.