Well yeah, it's made from nectar, but there is usually a small amount of pollen, some amino acids, plant sterols and fats and so on.
That's like saying that banana-flavouring is LIKE bananas because it contains the same ester.
But you're right about the OTT reaction... The panicked, hand-wringing, "How COULD they?!" exclamations just show that someone doesn't really have a good grasp of the realities of being a non-human sapient.
Well, like normal honey, this substance is still being regurgitated by the bees. I'm not terribly familiar with the mechanisms involved but I was under the impression the conversion from nectar to honey was largely done by the bees digesting the nectar before depositing it.
That's like saying that banana-flavouring is LIKE bananas because it contains the same ester.
But you're right about the OTT reaction... The panicked, hand-wringing, "How COULD they?!" exclamations just show that someone doesn't really have a good grasp of the realities of being a non-human sapient.