Anderson County Beekeepers Association

I admit it, I am a foodie.  You know those hippie types that love all things natural, local and organic, especially in what they eat.  That is one of the reasons I love having honeybees here on the homestead; they help my vegetables and herbs and fruit trees and…well, I hope you know the benefits of honeybees. (If not, feel free to ask, or even better, come to the local meeting.)  And of course, we get yummy, healthy honey.

If you haven’t heard, honey is a pretty big money maker globally. Just in the US we consume 400,000 million pounds of honey per year…and we American beekeepers supply less than half of that.  Thus the new coined “honey laundering” has emerged.

So where does that cute little plastic bear of honey you get at the grocery store come from?  There is a chance it comes from Canada and other trusted suppliers, albeit small chance.   There is a bigger chance that it comes from Asia or the lesser trusted suppliers. What is the big deal? Honey is honey, right? No, I am afraid it’s not. It has been reported that honey from China has been tested positive for such toxins as lead and other heavy metals, which cause serious health problems, as well as containing US- banned antibiotics.  Not to mention there are some reports of honey, not being honey at all, but  “a mix of sugar water, malt sweeteners, corn or rice syrup, jaggery [a type of unrefined sugar], barley malt sweetener or other additives with a bit of actual honey.”1  Scary!

There are a couple links below that you can read over if you aren’t too scared yet, and there is a lot more information out there. In my humble opinion, there are answers for this problem.  First, buy local honey.  This helps you by knowing where it comes from.  Don’t be afraid to ask your local beekeeper what kind of treatments they use on their bees.  Regardless if they do use some antibiotic or other treatments that keep them healthy, they won’t be “banned” treatments.  Local honey is also beneficial for those of us who have seasonal allergies. The pollen in the Northwest United States is a lot different than down here in the Southeast.   Buying local also helps our local economy by putting money back into circulation close to home, not China.  Secondly, help support the local beekeepers, not just by buying their honey, but by planting beneficial flowers and trees, and if you are a neighbor, try to be aware of using pesticides near their bee yards or apiaries.  Lastly, and the best answer would be to start your own hive and have your own honey.  If you are interested, but don’t know where to start, check out the web for state and local associations.

1.http://www.grist.org/food-safety/2011-08-18-honey-laundering-tainted-counterfeit-from-china-in-US         http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/22/tainted-chinese-honey-may-be-on-u-s-store-shelves/

by Rachel Bolin