As my summer beekeeping season comes to a close, I've processed the last honey harvest and will soon prep the bee hives for their winter break. I've left them enough of their own supply to feed themselves through the winter months and will soon wrap the hives to provide protection from cold winds and snow. And then cross fingers the girls will stay safe, healthy, and happy for a well-earned winter rest!
Similar to last year, one hive was really banging while the other just tried to get up to speed. But with close to a total of 170 pounds from primarily just the one hive, I'm not sure I'm ready for 2 hives at full production! Harvesting frames of honey in June, July, and August gave me 3 different color and flavor varieties due to the abundance of different nectar sources in my area. For fun, I've posted some honey harvest videos at the end of this post.
But even though I've taken my honey to Maple Acres Farm market down the street every couple of weeks this summer, I just learned they are completely out again. Not just of mine, but of all the other local honey sources as well.
The demand for local honey has really taken off and it is really great to see. Why is that?
The biggest reason I think is that people have really caught on that the honey you buy in the store and the honey you buy from a local producer are really 2 totally different products. And that's due to a number of things, most of which are quite sad unfortunately but I can report there is good news on the way!
For years, China and other countries have been illegally dumping their 'fake honey' into the U.S. market. This has been given the clever moniker of 'honey laundering'!
The U.S. imported over 200 million pounds of honey over the past 2 years, mostly from China but about 45 million pounds from India as well.
Honey sourced from these countries has been found to contain corn syrup, heavy metals, or even animal antibiotics. And most of it is ultra-filtered - a deceptive and illegal practice that heats up the honey, waters it down, and forces it thru really fine filters to remove all the pollen. This is different from the microfilter used by most commercial and private beekeepers to remove particles but still let pollen thru (see video below). The reason fraudsters do ultra-filtration is to essentially remove the 'proof' of where the honey is from as you can test the origin of the honey from the pollen. In a recent Food Safety News study, 76% of samples bought at grocery stores like Safeway, Giant, and Kroger all had pollen removed, and 100% of honey from drugstores like Walgreens, CVS and Rite-Aid had no pollen.
The good news is that honey fraud has been recognized as a big problem by the American Honey Producers Association and the U.S. government. In the past few years, significant efforts have been underway to prevent 'country of origin' fraud and dishonest importers that are disrupting the market.
Did you know that honey bees are the 3rd most valuable livestock in the U.S.??
Last year, Senator Tester (D, from Montana) and Senator Hoeven (R, from North Dakota), led efforts to get 2020 funding for Customs and Border Protection to purchase NMR equipment and add staff to test honey samples and stop the imports of these fake products. This is great news for states like North Dakota, the largest honey producer in the U.S., and will hopefully help them with getting a fair price for a good product instead of being locked out of the marketplace by unnatural knock-offs.
Not only that, Apimondia, the world's international beekeeping association, has now made a formal Statement on Honey Fraud and for the first time a formal definition of honey has been added to the Codex Alimentarius (the International 'food code' established by the United Nations and the World Health Organization). This will help reinforce an international standard so that these fake products can no longer even be called honey.
Avoiding 'funny honey' is just one of the many reasons to buy local honey. Raw unfiltered honey has so many benefits, many of which have been recognized for years. Not only does local honey just taste more flavorful, it contains natural antimicrobial properties. In a recent paper in the British Medical Journal, researchers compiled the results from 14 studies looking at honey compared to over-the-counter cold products and found that honey was as good or superior to these products in treating common cold symptoms. And given that cold medicines are really not recommended for younger children anyway, honey provides a safe, effective option (as long as not given to children younger than one as their gut bacteria are not developed enough at that age).
Some people swear by local honey to help with their seasonal allergies. It does make sense as honey color and content can really vary thru the season depending on what the bees are collecting.
While there isn't hard research out there on this, it does make sense that small doses of local pollen found in the honey would help build relevant immune responses.
And it's well known ancient wisdom that the antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of honey make it an effective topical treatment for wound healing.
So next time you are ready to refill that honey bear, check out the variety of honey in your area before reaching for something from the grocery store shelf. Search up farmers' markets or stores known to sell natural products like Trader Joes or Whole Foods. Most states keep a list of certified beekeepers and many beekeepers sell directly online so that is also an option.
According to the Bee Informed Partnership which surveys beekeepers every year, there were fewer losses this past year and U.S. honey bees are hopefully making a comeback in numbers. Let's support our U.S. producers and help keep our healthy honest honey supply strong!
Hi.. I would like to order and pick up local honey. I'm local in King of Prussia
hi Judith - I don't ship my honey but it's often available at Maple Acres Farm in Plymouth Meeting as I take any extra there for them to sell =)
I am a PEO in Miami Shores, FL and just read about you in the July/August Record. Is it possible to purchase your honey? My daughter's family are big honey eaters and I would love to give them some of yours to try.
Karen Davis
Chapter M/FL
Embarrassing, I didn’t see your comment til now! Thanks for reading the P.E.O. article and engaging. Unfortunately I just have 2 hives so I just supply to my local market - most goes to family and friends😀.