A British couple is on trial for passing off tons of cheap honey imported from Argentina and China as a more expensive English variety.

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William Baker, 58, and his wife Lynn, 54, deny 12 charges of making false descriptions of food and a further 12 charges of obtaining property by deception.

Prosecutor Miles Bennett said the Bakers mixed and supplied 17.7 tons of foreign and English honey in jars labeled "Smith of Norwich," and made "honey runs" across the county, delivering the product and generating up new business.

The couple allegedly made sales to greengrocers, village shops, butchers and other Norfolk traders totaling $120,000 between 2001 and 2003.

A search of the Bakers' home found records referring to 10.8 tons of honey from Argentina, 2.9 tons from China and 6.5 tons from elsewhere in Britain, The Telegraph reported.

The investigation began when a beekeeper became suspicious about the huge quantity of honey on sale from a producer he had never heard of, the newspaper said.