An friendly gesture was at the centre of a suspicious honey delivery to doorsteps at Hi-Wood Meadows Housing Co-operative in High River.
The honey, which had shown up at a resident's door in a recycled jar with a handwritten label that read "Chinook Honey.com" was reported to the owners of Chinook Honey Farm, who were initially concerned their product was being imitated and were unsure of where it had come from or how safe it was. They reached out to the public for help to identify where the honey had originated.
It turned out, the honey had come from Chinook Honey, but had been portioned out of a five-year-old pail and given to neighbours by an elderly resident of the complex.
"She decided to soften it up and put it in smaller jars and she realized she probably wouldn't be able to consume it, so she gave two to her next-door neighbour, who then gave one to another neighbour," said Barb Miller, with Hi-Wood Housing Co-operative.
That second neighbour contacted Chinook Honey Farm, unsure of where the product had come from.
Cherie Andrews, co-owner of Chinook Honey, said she was relieved to know it was an innocent and contained incident.
"We found out where the honey came from and we've advised them it's probably okay to consume," said Andrews, noting there is still some concern for food safety with repackaging the product as contamination could have occurred.
Miller called Andrews when she heard of the concerns over the honey delivery on Aug. 7, and they determined there was nothing awry.
"It is Chinook honey, but it is old Chinook honey," said Miller. "So we've all had a good laugh about this now, and the lady who did this has been told she's not allowed to do that ever again."
