Mad Honey Poisoning Case Log
Every publicly reported case of mad honey (grayanotoxin) poisoning since 2010 that we could trace to a health authority or a medical journal. One row per person, each linked to its source. Data checked 8 October 2026.
By the CMHI Editorial Team
Reported cases, not all cases. This log counts cases that were made public. Most poisonings are never reported, so these numbers cannot show how common poisoning is. If someone has eaten mad honey and feels faint or very dizzy, or has a slow pulse, call emergency services or a poison centre.
73people in the log, treated in 8 countries, 2010 to 2026
5cases first reported in 2026 so far
26 of 26cases treated outside Nepal and Turkey where the record says how the honey arrived: every one was a personal import
No death is recorded in any of the 73 cases.
Findings
What the log shows
The 73 people were treated in Hong Kong (23), Turkey (18), Nepal (18), Germany (6), the United States (5), and Japan, Qatar and the United Kingdom (1 each). Where the source records the honey’s origin, it came from Nepal in 41 cases and Turkey in 10. Fifty were men and 21 women; the median age was 50 (range 20 to 89).
Hong Kong is the most complete series, because its Centre for Health Protection (CHP) publishes a press release for most cases it is notified of. It recorded 8 people in 2024 alone, as many as in 2012 to 2017 together, and 15 of its 23 cases were reported from 2022 onwards. In 20 of the 23, the honey came from Nepal.
| Year | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
How the honey reached the patient. Of the 37 people treated outside Nepal and Turkey, the record says how the honey reached them in 26 cases. All 26 were personal imports: 18 were given, mailed or brought in by a friend or relative, 6 were carried back by the patient or their household, and 2 were bought by the patient while travelling, in Nepal and in Turkey. The other 11 records do not say how the honey arrived. Inside Nepal and Turkey, the route is rarely recorded.
What this does not show. The log records how people who were poisoned came by their honey. It cannot show whether honey sold in shops is safe, or how often it causes poisoning: many records say nothing about the route, and a purchase that caused no reported illness would never appear here. Grayanotoxin cannot be judged by taste, colour or price; only a laboratory test measures it.
Other patterns: recreational use first appears in 2024, in three men treated in the United States after drinking mad honey mixed with bourbon at a music festival. Three patients in Nepal took the honey as a remedy: for a cold, for abdominal pain, and on a local healer’s advice.
The data
Every case in the log
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: please credit Cliff Mad Honey Index. Also archived on Zenodo: doi:10.5281/zenodo.23235009.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Reported | Treated at | Patient | Honey from | How it reached the patient | Symptoms | Outcome | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Jul 2026 | Giresun, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 62, man | not stated | not stated | dizziness, nausea, cold sweats 30 min after a tablespoon; BP 70/40, sinus bradycardia, marked QTc prolongation, giant inverted T waves | recovered within 24 h with fluids and magnesium | Aydın et al. (PMID 42497466) |
| 30 Jun 2026 | Nawalparasi, Nepal (Manipal College of Medical Sciences) | 38, man | Nepal | locally obtained, deliberately consumed | dizziness, vomiting, tingling 30 min after one tablespoon in warm water; HR 45, BP 90/60 | coronary care unit 48 h, no complications | Ghimire et al. (PMID 42381073) |
| 24 May 2026 | Maidstone, England (per author affiliation) | 75, man | Nepal | gift: brought from Nepal as a gift | near-syncope, dizziness, lethargy, nausea, diarrhoea 1 h after 20-30 mL; BP 65/41, HR 45 | discharged home without sequelae | Alkhafaji et al. (PMID 42344828) |
| 6 May 2026 | Hong Kong, Pok Oi Hospital | 59, woman | Turkey (Turkiye) | bought by the patient in Turkey and carried back (Chinese-language release: purchased) | chest discomfort, dizziness, transient blurred vision, near syncope about 30 min after eating | admitted, discharged 1 May; grayanotoxin detected in urine and honey; Turkish authority to be informed | CHP press release |
| 27 Mar 2026 | Rupandehi, Nepal (Mercy City Hospital) | 59, man | Nepal | locally sourced | nausea, vomiting, dizziness 60-80 min after 3-4 teaspoons; BP 60/40, HR 42 | discharged next day; normal at 2-week follow-up | Pahari et al. (PMID 41888643) |
| 17 Nov 2025 | Pokhara, Nepal (Manipal College of Medical Sciences) | 20, man | Nepal (wild honey) | not stated; ingested accidentally | dizziness, nausea, bradycardia, repeated brief generalised tonic spasms | ICU; stable after 24 h | Sah et al. (PMID 41496998) |
| 6 Oct 2025 | Hong Kong, Kwong Wah Hospital | 38, man | Nepal (honey produced in Nepal) | not stated | dizziness, nausea, generalised weakness about 2 h after eating; bradycardia | observed in hospital, stable; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 11 Jul 2025 | Banepa, Nepal (Scheer Memorial Adventist Hospital) | 65, man | Nepal (wild honey) | not stated | nausea, vomiting, limb weakness, diplopia, blackouts, chest discomfort after two teaspoons twice; reached hospital 26 h later; BP 60/40, HR 35 | vasopressors; discharged day 4 | Kafle et al. (PMID 40655457) |
| 11 Jul 2025 | Banepa, Nepal (Scheer Memorial Adventist Hospital) | 35, man | Nepal (wild honey) | not stated; taken in warm water for a common cold | dizziness, syncope 20-25 min after two tablespoons | discharged day 3 | Kafle et al. (PMID 40655457) |
| 25 Jun 2025 | Doha, Qatar | 40, man | Nepal | gift: offered by a friend who had brought it from Nepal (the friend ate it too, without symptoms) | dizziness, near fainting about 3 h after about 50 g; HR under 30, hypotension | discharged within 24 h; reported as the first known case in Qatar | Jamal et al. (PMID 40606291) |
| 5 Jun 2025 | Hong Kong, Pok Oi Hospital | 51, woman | Nepal | gift: carried in from Nepal by a relative | dizziness about 30 min after eating; hypotension, bradycardia | observed in hospital, stable; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 24 Apr 2025 | Hong Kong, Queen Elizabeth Hospital | 44, man | Nepal | gift: carried in from Nepal by a relative | syncope about 30 min after eating; hypotension, bradycardia | observed in hospital, later discharged; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 15 Mar 2025 | Phoenix, Arizona (Mayo Clinic) | 49, woman | Nepal | bought by the patient during a trip to Nepal | lightheadedness, head pressure, nausea, flushing after two cups of tea with the honey; BP 82/44, HR 47 | supportive care without atropine; discharged stable | Van Ligten et al. (PMID 40230776) |
| 27 Feb 2025 | Chame, Manang district, Nepal | 52, man | Nepal (stored wild honey) | not stated; taken as medicine for abdominal pain | dizziness, vomiting, sweating, hypersalivation 30 min after two teaspoons; BP 48/32, HR 49 | atropine and low-dose vasopressor; discharged, well at follow-up | Adhikari et al. (PMID 40213180) |
| 6 Jan 2025 | Kathmandu, Nepal (per author affiliation) | 65, man | Nepal | not stated | nausea, vomiting, dizziness, altered mental state 25 min after 30 mL; BP 60/40, HR 40 | ICU 120 h, then ward; discharged in sinus rhythm | Hossain et al. (PMID 39764260) |
| 2 Dec 2024 | Hong Kong, North Lantau Hospital then Princess Margaret Hospital | 57, man | Nepal | gift: carried in from Nepal by a friend | dizziness, syncope about 3 h after eating | stable after treatment; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 6 Nov 2024 | Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital | 44, woman | Nepal | carried back from Nepal by the patient | bradycardia, hypotension, dizziness about 30 min after eating | admitted, discharged 1 Nov stable; grayanotoxin detected in urine and honey | CHP press release |
| 1 Nov 2024 | Morang, Nepal (Birat Medical College) | 60, man | Nepal (wild honey stored 2 years) | not stated; taken on a local healer's advice mixed with about 400 mL of local alcohol | syncope with a fall, nasal bleeding, dizziness, headache, lung haziness | recovered with treatment | Khan et al. (PMID 39493785) |
| 23 Oct 2024 | Hong Kong, Queen Elizabeth Hospital | 35, woman | Nepal | gift: carried in from Nepal by a friend | dizziness, convulsions, loss of consciousness about 30 min after eating | admitted, stable; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 17 Oct 2024 | Hong Kong, North District Hospital | 48, man | Nepal | gift: carried in from Nepal by a friend | dizziness, vomiting, syncope about 2 h after eating | admitted, stable; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 14 Aug 2024 | Nepal (tertiary care centre; authors at Nepal Army Institute of Health Sciences and others) | 29, man | Nepal (wild honey) | not stated | vomiting, dizziness after one tablespoon; BP 80/40, HR 48 | ICU 24 h, discharged | Thapa et al. (PMID 39239017) |
| 14 Aug 2024 | Nepal (tertiary care centre; authors at Nepal Army Institute of Health Sciences and others) | 45, man | Nepal (wild honey) | not stated | vomiting after one teaspoon; BP 60/40, HR 45 | ward, discharged next day | Thapa et al. (PMID 39239017) |
| 14 Aug 2024 | Nepal (tertiary care centre; authors at Nepal Army Institute of Health Sciences and others) | 51, man | Nepal (wild honey) | not stated | vomiting after one spoon; bradycardia, hypotension | ward, discharged next day | Thapa et al. (PMID 39239017) |
| 14 Aug 2024 | Nepal (tertiary care centre; authors at Nepal Army Institute of Health Sciences and others) | 46, man | Nepal (wild honey) | not stated | shortness of breath, vomiting after about 2 tablespoons; anaphylaxis signs | ICU 24 h, discharged | Thapa et al. (PMID 39239017) |
| 14 Aug 2024 | Nepal (tertiary care centre; authors at Nepal Army Institute of Health Sciences and others) | 51, woman | Nepal (wild honey) | not stated | vomiting, facial swelling; anaphylaxis signs | ICU 24 h, discharged | Thapa et al. (PMID 39239017) |
| 5 Aug 2024 | Hong Kong, Kwong Wah Hospital | 42, woman | Nepal | gift: carried in from Nepal by a friend | hypersalivation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness about 1 h after eating; hypotension, bradycardia | admitted, stable; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 25 Jun 2024 | Hong Kong, Kwong Wah Hospital | 50, man | Nepal | gift: carried in from Nepal by a friend | dizziness, vomiting, shortness of breath about 30 min after eating; hypotension, bradycardia | admitted, stable; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 20 Jun 2024 | Black Rock Desert, Nevada (Burning Man festival) | 31, man | not stated | not stated; recreational use, mixed with bourbon | vomiting, diarrhoea; BP 80/50, HR 44 | treated with atropine and fluids; discharged | Ali et al. (PMID 39036130) |
| 20 Jun 2024 | Black Rock Desert, Nevada (Burning Man festival) | 38, man | not stated | not stated; recreational use, three shots mixed with bourbon (also ketamine) | vomiting, diarrhoea; bradycardia, hypotension | treated with atropine and fluids; discharged | Ali et al. (PMID 39036130) |
| 20 Jun 2024 | Black Rock Desert, Nevada (Burning Man festival) | 35, man | not stated | not stated; recreational use, three shots mixed with bourbon | vomiting, increased flatus; bradycardia, hypotension | treated with atropine and fluids; discharged | Ali et al. (PMID 39036130) |
| 15 Jun 2024 | Hong Kong, Kwong Wah Hospital | 35, man | Nepal | gift: mailed from Nepal by a friend | dizziness, vomiting about 30 min after eating; hypotension, bradycardia | admitted, stable; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 2 Feb 2024 | Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital | 56, man | Nepal (home-made honey) | gift: home-made honey mailed from Nepal by a friend | dizziness, vomiting about 30 min after eating; hypotension, bradycardia | admitted, discharged 1 Feb stable; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 13 Dec 2023 | Nepal (Kathmandu, per author affiliation) | 51, woman | Nepal (Lamjung district) | not stated | nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, sweating, dizziness, facial and lip swelling after four tablespoons; BP 70/50, HR 47; anaphylactic shock | ICU 2 days, discharged; well at 2 weeks | Jha et al. (PMID 38333261) |
| 14 Nov 2023 | Hong Kong, Kwong Wah Hospital | 49, man | Nepal (home-made honey) | gift: home-made honey mailed from Nepal by a friend | dizziness, vomiting, diarrhoea about 30 min after eating; hypotension, bradycardia | admitted, stable, still in hospital at release; suspected mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 13 Nov 2023 | Hong Kong, Queen Elizabeth Hospital | 65, woman | India (home-made honey) | gift: home-made honey carried in from India by a friend | vomiting, confusion, hypotension, bradycardia about 1 h after eating | admitted, stable, still in hospital at release; clinical diagnosis mad honey poisoning | CHP press release |
| 7 Jun 2023 | Nepal (Kathmandu / Chitwan, per author affiliation) | 62, man | Nepal (wild honey) | not stated | chest heaviness, shortness of breath, nausea, headache, loss of consciousness after two teaspoons; HR 38 | coronary care unit 48 h with vasopressors; discharged stable | Baniya et al. (PMID 37427211) |
| 10 May 2023 | Dharan, Nepal (B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences) | 40, man | Nepal (Taplejung district) | bought (honey bought from Taplejung district) | blurred vision, loose stools, vomiting, sweating, loss of consciousness after three tablespoons; HR 38, SBP 60; suspected anaphylaxis | recovered in about 8 h; well at monthly follow-up (paper gives age as 40 and 41) | Anand et al. (PMID 37363528) |
| 3 May 2023 | Germany | 56, man | Turkey (Black Sea region) | not on sale in German retail or origin unclear (BfR statement covering all its known cases) | bradycardia, hypotension, circulatory weakness, abdominal pain after two tablespoons | full recovery | German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) |
| 3 May 2023 | Germany | 40, man | Turkey (Black Sea region) | not on sale in German retail or origin unclear (BfR statement covering all its known cases) | severe symptoms with clouding of consciousness and bradycardia | not stated | German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) |
| 22 Dec 2022 | Hong Kong, Queen Elizabeth Hospital | 28, man | Nepal (home-made honey) | home-made honey carried back from Nepal by the patient | bradycardia, hypotension, abdominal pain, dizziness, nausea, vomiting about 2.5 h after eating | admitted, discharged 19 Dec stable; grayanotoxin detected in urine and honey | CHP press release |
| 22 Jul 2022 | United States | 61, man | Turkey | gift: honey brought to the US from Turkey | nausea, lightheadedness, loss of consciousness 30 min after eating; bradycardia, hypotension; a similar episode several days earlier | recovered after atropine and saline; grayanotoxins I and III confirmed in blood, urine and honey | DiSalvo et al. (PMID 35871991) |
| 4 Jul 2022 | Germany | 49, man | Turkey (Black Sea region) | not stated | syncope with documented sinus node arrest | grayanotoxin poisoning proven; pacemaker implantation avoided | Grauthoff et al. (PMID 35781831) |
| 1 Mar 2022 | Western Nepal (Pokhara / Palpa, per author affiliation) | 55, woman | Nepal (wild honey) | not stated | dizziness, vomiting 45-60 min after 10-15 mL; BP 70/40, HR 48 | ICU; left at own request after 24 h, returned 12 h later; discharged after a further 36 h | Paudel et al. (PMID 35251653) |
| 13 Aug 2021 | Istanbul, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 50, man | not stated | not stated | hypotension 80/50, dizziness, HR 30, complete atrioventricular block | temporary pacemaker, coronary ICU, rhythm returned to normal | Islamoglu et al. (PMID 34422502) |
| 13 Aug 2021 | Istanbul, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 60, man | not stated | not stated | chest pain, hypotension, bradycardia | coronary ICU; rhythm normal after atropine | Islamoglu et al. (PMID 34422502) |
| 13 Aug 2021 | Istanbul, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 46, man | not stated | not stated | unresponsiveness and numbness, HR 47 | rhythm normal after atropine | Islamoglu et al. (PMID 34422502) |
| 13 Aug 2021 | Istanbul, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 56, man | not stated | not stated | palpitation, near fainting after two teaspoons of wild honey | rhythm normal after atropine | Islamoglu et al. (PMID 34422502) |
| 13 Aug 2021 | Istanbul, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 50, woman | not stated | not stated | palpitation, dizziness, bradycardia after about 10 mL | rhythm normal after atropine | Islamoglu et al. (PMID 34422502) |
| 22 Oct 2018 | Kathmandu, Nepal (Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital) | 52, woman | Nepal (wild red honey) | not stated (patient from the Gurung community) | shortness of breath, chest burning, visual hallucinations, blurred vision, lightheadedness, unsteady gait, numbness after four tablespoons | resolved within hours after atropine; uneventful discharge | Shrestha et al. (PMID 30564328) |
| 31 Jan 2018 | Oberhausen, Germany | 46, woman | Turkey ("Turkish honey") | not stated; patient of Turkish origin | nausea, vomiting, sweating, collapse in the street about 1 h after eating; BP 60/40, HR 40, GCS 8; ICU; initially treated as myocardial infarction | full recovery within 24 h; rhododendron pollen confirmed | Broscaru et al. (PMID 30755974) |
| 30 Mar 2017 | Hong Kong, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital | 37, man | Nepal | gift: carried in from Nepal by the patient's friend | dizziness, numbness, shortness of breath about 5 min after eating | admitted, discharged against medical advice next day, stable; grayanotoxin detected in honey | CHP press release |
| 24 Jan 2017 | Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital | 61, man | Nepal | gift: carried in from Nepal by a friend | generalised weakness, numbness, chills, shortness of breath about 45 min after eating | admitted, discharged 19 Jan stable; grayanotoxin detected in urine and honey | CHP press release |
| 26 Sep 2016 | Hong Kong, Tseung Kwan O Hospital | 50, man | Nepal | carried back from Nepal by the patient's family | abdominal pain, sweating, dizziness about 1 h after eating | admitted, discharged 24 Sep stable; grayanotoxin detected in urine and honey | CHP press release |
| 11 Mar 2016 | Istanbul, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 89, woman | not stated | not stated | nausea, weakness, faintness 2 h after 2-3 spoons; sinus bradycardia 48; acute hepatitis (raised liver enzymes) | recovered, discharged | Sari Dogan et al. (PMID 27239626) |
| 4 Oct 2015 | Trabzon, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 66, man | not stated | not stated | nausea, vomiting, faintness 2 h after eating; temperature 34 C, BP 70/40, HR 30 (hypothermia) | discharged in good condition | Aygun et al. (PMID 26437804) |
| 4 Oct 2015 | Trabzon, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 57, man | not stated | not stated | headache, feeling cold, faintness 3 h after eating; temperature 35 C, BP 60/40, HR 46 | discharged in good condition | Aygun et al. (PMID 26437804) |
| 4 Oct 2015 | Trabzon, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 79, woman | not stated | not stated | nausea, vomiting, headache 2 h after eating; temperature 35 C, BP 70/40, HR 40 | discharged in good condition | Aygun et al. (PMID 26437804) |
| 29 Jun 2015 | Zonguldak, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 55, woman | not stated | bought from an unlicensed local vendor | chest pain, nausea, weakness, dizziness after 3 tablespoons at breakfast; BP 70/45, HR 46; inferior ST elevation (type 2 myocardial infarction) | discharged after 3 days | Karabag et al. (PMID 26161022) |
| 8 Aug 2014 | Ruesselsheim, Germany | 52, man | "pontic honey" (per source) | not stated; patient of Turkish background, wife reported regular consumption | nausea, vomiting, syncope, sinus bradycardia | free of complaints after 24 h monitoring | Engel et al. (PMID 25098436) |
| 25 May 2014 | Hong Kong Adventist Hospital | 49, woman | Nepal | carried back from Nepal by the patient | dizziness, abdominal pain, nausea, transient loss of consciousness about 1 h after eating | ICU, stable; suspected grayanotoxin poisoning | CHP press release |
| Dec 2013 | Tokyo, Japan (National Center for Global Health and Medicine) | 63, woman | "foreign honey" (country not stated) | not stated | sneezing, visual disturbance, dyspnoea after honey in hot water; BP 56/30, HR 55 | improved immediately after atropine; discharged day 2 (diagnosis speculative per authors) | Inagaki et al. (PMID 24483011) |
| 16 Aug 2013 | Hong Kong, North District Hospital | 49, man | Nepal | carried back from Nepal by this patient | dizziness, numbness of both upper limbs about 2 h after 1-2 spoonfuls | general ward, stable; suspected grayanotoxin poisoning (honey sent for testing); cluster of 3, two other diners well | CHP press release |
| 16 Aug 2013 | Hong Kong, North District Hospital | 66, woman | Nepal | carried back from Nepal by a family member (the male patient, her son-in-law) | severe dizziness, sweating, transient loss of consciousness, seizure | cardiac care unit, serious condition at time of release; suspected grayanotoxin poisoning (honey sent for testing); cluster of 3, two other diners well | CHP press release |
| 16 Aug 2013 | Hong Kong, North District Hospital | 30, woman | Nepal | shared by a friend (the male patient) who carried it back from Nepal | dizziness, nausea, vomiting, sweating, limb numbness, transient loss of consciousness | cardiac care unit, serious condition at time of release; suspected grayanotoxin poisoning (honey sent for testing); cluster of 3, two other diners well | CHP press release |
| Aug 2013 | Hong Kong (regional hospital) | 48, man | Himalayan region (country not stated) | gift: provided by a friend who lived near the Himalayas | severe dizziness, chest discomfort, sweating, coffee-ground vomiting, blurred vision; BP 74/36, HR 37, transient ST elevation | recovered after atropine; cardiac care unit monitoring; grayanotoxin confirmed in urine and honey | Chen et al. (PMID 23918513) |
| Jul 2012 | Sakarya, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 54, man | Turkey (Black Sea region) | not stated | nausea, vomiting, dizziness, chest pain about 1 h after two tablespoons; HR 40, BP 70/40; atrial fibrillation with slow ventricular response | normal coronaries; discharged after 48 h | Osken et al. (PMID 22923947) |
| 19 Apr 2012 | Zonguldak, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 76, man | not stated | not stated | transient ST elevation and left bundle branch block | not stated in abstract | Sayin et al. (PMID 22527815) |
| 6 Nov 2011 | Ankara, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 36, man | not stated | not stated | atrial fibrillation with slow ventricular response | not stated in abstract | Bayram et al. (PMID 22056548) |
| 5 Oct 2011 | Duzce, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 48 | not stated (rhododendron pollen confirmed) | not stated | acute anterior wall myocardial infarction after mad honey | stent to a 99% LAD stenosis (underlying coronary disease) | Sumerkan et al. (PMID 21972794) |
| 2011 | Kayseri, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 50, man | Turkey (Black Sea area) | not stated; eaten daily for a week by a married couple to improve sexual performance | acute inferior myocardial infarction pattern within 3 h of a larger dose; normal coronary arteries | resolved with atropine; rhododendron pollen found in the honey | Yarlioglues et al. (PMID 22163140) |
| 2011 | Kayseri, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 42, woman | Turkey (Black Sea area) | not stated; eaten daily for a week by a married couple to improve sexual performance | acute inferior myocardial infarction pattern within 3 h of a larger dose; normal coronary arteries | resolved with atropine; rhododendron pollen found in the honey | Yarlioglues et al. (PMID 22163140) |
| 2011 | Duzce, Turkey (per author affiliation) | 70, man | not stated | not stated | weakness, palpitation, nausea, vomiting, confusion after a few teaspoons; BP 60/20; paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, intermittent left bundle branch block | sinus rhythm in 6 h, discharged day 2 | Saritas et al. (PMID 22179175) |
| 2010 | Hesse, Germany | not stated | Turkey (Black Sea region) | not stated | disturbance of consciousness and bradycardia about 4 h after an unknown amount | medical treatment; symptoms faded within 24 h | BfR 2010 evaluation of a case reported to the Hessian consumer-protection ministry |
Context
Larger studies, and food-control alerts
Large case series and reviews are not added row by row, because many of their patients also appear in the published case reports above. They give the wider picture:
| Source | What it found |
|---|---|
| Pokharel, Gautam and Bhattarai (2026), Toxicon | The most complete review of cases in Nepal: 27 publications describing about 68 cases over five decades, most from Gandaki Province. No fatalities recorded. |
| Silici and Atayoglu (2015), Food and Chemical Toxicology | 1,199 cases from case reports published 1981 to 2014; 75.17% men, most aged 41 to 65. No deaths reported. |
| Gunduz, Simsek and Ayaz (2023), Central European Journal of Public Health | 900 cases worldwide. By where the honey was produced: Turkey 91.44%, Nepal 4.67%. |
| EFSA CONTAM Panel (2023), EFSA Journal | More than 1,000 cases in the published literature, and “no fatalities from Rhododendron honey poisonings have been reported in modern times”. |
| German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Q&A dated 3 May 2023 | At least five poisonings in Germany since 2010. |
| Sohn et al. (2014), Internal and Emergency Medicine | 15 patients at one Seoul hospital, 2004 to 2012. In every one, the honey had been brought from Nepal. |
EU food-control alerts (RASFF). These are findings in honey on sale or at the border, not illnesses:
| Alert | What was found |
|---|---|
| 2026.8785, 5 October 2026 | Grayanotoxin at 64 mg/kg in honey from Nepal, via the Netherlands, found in an official control on the market. Sale banned. Countries involved: Czechia, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Greece. |
| 2025.4738, 25 June 2025 | Grayanotoxins in honey from Nepal, via the Netherlands, found in an official control on the market. Detained and sale banned. The label said the honey contained grayanotoxins and was to be eaten “at the consumer’s own risk”. |
| 2025.1605 and 2025.1625, 6 March 2025 | Grayanotoxins at 11.59 and 2.95 mg/kg in honey from Nepal offered online in Austria. Removal of the online offers requested. |
| 2024.3224, 22 April 2024 | Grayanotoxin in honey from Singapore, detained at the German border and rejected. |
Alerts can be looked up by reference in the RASFF Window.
Method
How the log is built
Sources searched. Every Hong Kong CHP press release since 2010 that mentions honey, grayanotoxin or poisoning, read in English and in Chinese (the Chinese version sometimes adds detail). Other health and food authorities, including Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, the UK, the US, Turkey, Germany (BfR), Spain and EFSA. PubMed case reports published from 2010, screened by hand, with open full texts read where the abstract omits age, sex or how the honey was obtained. The EU RASFF alert system.
What counts as a case. A person who fell ill after eating honey, where the source attributes the illness to grayanotoxin or mad honey, whether confirmed or suspected. The source must be a health authority, or a PubMed-indexed case report that gives each patient’s age or sex. Reports of up to five patients are entered one by one; larger series appear only as context, above. Nothing is inferred: where a source is silent, the cell says “not stated”.
Not included. Poisonings from rhododendron flowers, leaves or liqueur; honey poisonings caused by other plant toxins; cases from before 2010.
Limits. These are reported cases, not a measure of how often poisoning happens. The CHP may not issue a release for every case it is notified of, so the absence of Hong Kong releases from 2018 to 2021 does not show there were no cases. Local press reports in Turkey and Nepal, and journals outside PubMed, are not logged. Two reports from South Korea are left out under these rules: a 2010 cluster in Yeongju, where the national food regulator said five people were treated in hospital after eating honey presumed to be from Nepal, known only from press reports of its statement; and a 2012 case in a Korean journal that PubMed does not index (Choi et al., Journal of the Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology). A few rows may describe the same patient twice: the German authority rows may overlap with German case reports. Journal cases are dated by publication, which can be months after the illness.
For journalists
Using this log
As of 8 October 2026, the log holds 73 people poisoned by mad honey since 2010, treated in 8 countries, with no deaths recorded. Hong Kong reported 8 cases in 2024, as many as in 2012 to 2017 together. In every case treated outside Nepal and Turkey where the record says how the honey arrived (26 of 37), it was a personal import.
- Latest case: a 62-year-old man in Turkey, in a case report published on 21 Jul 2026 (PubMed). The latest Hong Kong case is a 59-year-old woman who fell ill after eating honey she had bought in Turkey (CHP, 6 May 2026).
- Check the source: every row links to its primary source. Press reports sometimes add details a release does not contain, so quote the release itself.
- Reuse: the data is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0; download the CSV.
- Data and corrections: contact@cliffmadhoneyindex.org
Cliff Mad Honey Index Editorial Team (2026). Mad Honey Poisoning Case Log (data version 2026-10-08) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23235009. Also at cliffmadhoneyindex.org/tools/mad-honey-poisoning-case-log/
Changelog
Changes to this log
- 14 October 2026: the Limits note in the method now names two reports from South Korea that the inclusion rules leave out. The data is unchanged (version 2026-10-08).
- 8 October 2026: log published with 73 people, 2010 to 8 October 2026. The same data is archived on Zenodo (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23235009).
If a later release or paper changes a fact, we correct the row and record the change here, with the date.
