Is it Really Honey?

Sammy — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 13:45:59 +0000

It's sad that we have to question everything these days and it may surprise you to learn that honey is no exception. We are all aware that there are different qualities and subsequent prices but did you ever question if what you were actually purchasing was even honey?

Most "honey" sold in UK is simply labeled as being "A blend of EU or non-EU honeys, packed in the UK". So while you can clearly see the origin of your apples etc it is often impossible to find out where your honey is coming from. Only 14% of the honey consumed in the UK is British, most of it is imported from China and there is no current requirement to declare the countries of origin so long as there is a blend of more than one but that's not all they're hiding..

In 2023 the European Commission reported that nearly half the samples tested from 20 countries were suspected of being adulterated with sugar syrup, this included all 10 UK packed samples.

Honey from China has garnered a negative reputation for several reasons, as well as the adulteration of honey with cheap sweeteners like corn syrup, rice syrup and even sugar. The honey has also been found to contain antibiotics such as chloramphenicol and other prohibited substances. These substances are commonly used there in beekeeping practices but as these antibiotics can pose health risks to consumers they are not allowed in many countries including the EU.

So how are they getting away with this? Mislabeling and a lack of transparency regarding the origin of the honey. Some honey labeled as coming from another country may well have originated in China but was transshipped to hide its true origin. Add the convenient loophole of not having to state the origin of honey if there is any blend and we have rubbish masked as honey in our high streets with the consumer none the wiser. This is not to say that there are no genuine producers in China of course but they are not in the imported blends addressed in this article.

The influx of cheap, often adulterated honey also has economic repercussions for beekeepers in other countries who produce, high quality, pure honey. The price competition hurts local beekeepers and reduces the incentive to maintain high-quality production standards. This in turn further jeopardises the much needed support of the bees.

So check the label on your honey and think twice about where you want to put your money next time you go shopping! Real honey is undoubtedly one of the most wonderful gifts from nature and the difference in taste and health benefits is huge. Some of us were lucky enough to sample the treats that Mark, aka, "the bee man" kindly brought to last years BBQ with his "toffee honey" still talked about and it's exciting to think about the future honey their bees will create at Little Fields. Support local, support nature and enjoy the liquid gold that is pure British honey!

How Bees Make Honey

Max — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 09:15:08 +0000

Why Bees Need Honey.

Honey bees are special in that they overwinter as a colony, unlike bumblebees and lone bees. The colony does not hibernate but stays active and clusters together to stay warm. This requires a lot of food, which is collected and stored during the summer. Although a hive only needs 20-30 lb of honey to survive an average winter, the bees are capable of producing much more, if given storage space. This is what the beekeeper wants them to do.

How Much Honey Can One Beehive Produce?

One hive can produce up to 60 lb (27 kg) or more in a good season, however an average hive will need 50% of this to survive over the winter.

Bees wok very hard to make our honey, flying about 55,000 miles to make just one pound of honey, that’s the equivalent of travelling over two times around the world.

How Do Beekeepers Collect Honey From The Bees?

The queen bee is kept below the upper boxes (called ‘supers’ which will hold the honey combs) in the hive by a wire or plastic grid (called a ‘queen excluder’), which the queen is too large to fit through. As the bees cannot raise brood above the queen excluder, only honey is stored in the supers. As the season progresses the beekeeper adds more supers until the time to harvest the honey.

A special one-way valve is then fitted in place of the queen excluder and gradually all the bees are forced into the lowest part of the hive. The beekeeper can then simply lift off the ‘super’ boxes containing the honey comb. The honey is extracted from the comb using centrifugal force in a machine called a spinner, which looks like an old-fashioned upright spin dryer.

Do The Bees Miss The Honey That Is Taken?

No. A strong colony can produce 2-3 times more honey than it needs. If necessary the beekeeper can feed sugar syrup in the autumn to supplement for the loss of honey.

Why Are Some Types Of Honey Clear And Runny And Other Types Opaque And Hard?

The type of honey made by the bees is dependent on the types of foliage and flowers available to the bees. Crops such as oil seed rape (the bright yellow fields in the spring) produce large quantities of honey that sets very hard, so hard that the bees cannot use it in the winter; garden flowers tend to give a clear liquid honey. If the beekeeper wants to produce a mono-floral honey, e.g. pure clover, orange blossom, etc, the beehive is put out of range from other floral sources. This can be difficult for the hobby beekeeper, who normally produces a blend of the season’s honey. In the autumn, some beekeepers move their hives onto the moors to harvest the nectar from wild heather. Heather honey is thought to be the king of honeys and has a clear jelly consistency.

How Do Bees Make Honey?

Bees take nectar, which is a sweet sticky substance exuded by most flowers and some insects (honeydew), and mix it with enzymes from glands in their mouths. This nectar/enzyme mix is stored in hexagonal wax honey comb until the water content has been reduced to around 17%. When this level is reached, the cell is capped over with a thin layer of wax to seal it until the bees need it. This capping indicates to the beekeeper that the honey can be harvested. Capped honey can keep almost indefinitely. For the school swot: Sucrose (nectar) + inverters (bee enzyme) = fructose + glucose = honey. Perfectly edible honey comb was found in the tombs of the Pharaohs, over three thousand years old. How’s that for ‘Best Before Dates’.

Does Honey Contain Additives?

Unfortunately there is a lot of mass-produced adulterated honey around at the moment. The most prevalent problems include:

dilution with different syrups
harvesting immature honey
using ion-exchange resins to lighten colour
mis-labelling origin

If you buy your honey direct from a local producer in the UK, these problems shouldn't exist. It should have it's source clearly labelled and be in its 'raw' form i.e nothing added to it, simply filtered to remove the comb and wax after spinning.

Honey - Natures Gift to Us - Land 4 Life Forum