Organic honey

[starmac]

Where does organic honey come from???? I don't mean the grocery store either. lol

[gandydancer]

I have seen a flat bed truck with a large wire cage with a million bees in hives moved around to different spots up in maine and left for a few weeks at a time. and then moved again to another spot. when on the move a large canvas tarp was used to cover the bees when on the move. and the spots where always deep in the maine woods near fresh water and lots of wild flowers. GD

[nhrifle]

Straight outa the comb. Shake off the bees and take a bite. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Then run. The bees are royally PO'd!

[ffg]

My dad had some bee hives as a hobby when I was a young-un .
The honey was only filtered and not processed like the store bought stuff.
Very dark in color and much stronger flavor.

To answer your question , to be organic honey would mean the bees gathered the nectar organic crops .

[gbrown]

Near where I live are a couple of apiarists--that's fancy for beekeepers, LOL. I buy my honey from one of them for $25.00 for 5 #s, roughly a gallon jug. Every year, beekeepers from Okla, KS, and other states move their hives down here for the winter and stack them out of the way on ranches. The raw honey--you call it organic--is straight from the comb, maybe filtered a little, but not much. Most of the time, mine has pollen in it, which can lead to some fermentation over time. It tastes like honey, not like the filtered and pasteurized stuff from the store. P.S. Also good source for beeswax.

[texassako]

I thought all honey would be organic in the begininning, but it is probably to show the end product is free of extras as well(and make an extra buck on the organic labeling). There can be a bunch of additives and fillers in in foreign produced honey.

[chrisw]

As a beekeeper...

There is no such thing as organic honey. The reason is twofold, the simplest reason is that organic s a legal advertising term that under US law says the producer has been verified as an organic producer. Given that there is nobody who has standards nor certifies honey anyone who says their honey is organic is at least ignorant and false advertising at worse intentionally trying to deceive you.

second is for a product to be organic it must be, well, organic. That means that the producer garrentees their bees don't gather from a yard or field that has been been treated with almost any chemical. That the water the bees consume is pure... Given that bees have been known to fly 8 miles, that means that the producer must verify that not a single chemical has been used in years in umm... Pi are squared? 50 square miles surrounding each hive???


Not only that but beekeepers can't agree what's organic and not- most chemicals I use are naturally occuring in bee hives but the granolas say nope- gotta be non-chemical (what's H2O if not a compound) and some treat with sugar. Well, cane sugar isn't nnaturally occuring in a hive plus its how people "cheat" and illegal under most state laws to sell honey that contains sugar...



blah, blah, blah- sorry more than you ever cared to know. Just find a local beekeeper and buy it OR get your own bees!

[Blammer]

chrisw is spot on.

Here in NC the State just passed a law defining what "pure honey" means on a lable.

when it comes to Honey there was and is for the most part NO rules or regulations on what you could or could NOT say when labeling a bottle of Honey.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

:groner:
I seen some Honey flavored syrup at the dollar store, product in China.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joemud/3910762585/

[41 mag fan]

Where does organic honey come from???? I don't mean the grocery store either. lol


From organic bees :groner::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:

[chrisw]

chrisw is spot on.

Here in NC the State just passed a law defining what "pure honey" means on a lable.

when it comes to Honey there was and is for the most part NO rules or regulations on what you could or could NOT say when labeling a bottle of Honey.

thx! Actually there are rules what honey is and what must be in the jar, the problem is that 1/2 (or more, much more) of our "honey" sold in the stores isn't in fact honey. Many countries, China in perticular, super filtrates out their honey (so we can't tell it comes from China since they are bannned from selliing in most of the world due to their chemicals/fraud). So the "honey" is actually just sugar water and all the goodness, pollens and flavors, etc is filtered out.

there is only rules though, no enforcement of the rules (again- enforcement costs money- higher taxes). So we are left in the situation where 50-75% of the honey sold in the US is fraud.

If we spent 10 million a year in enforcement, Americans would make 100 miillion more a year, paying what, 25 million more in Taxes but too many people miss the forest because of the trees.

buy local! It costs about the same and there is a much lower risk (maybe 15%) that the honey isn't fake or illegal...

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I've got a friend about 3 miles from me that has bees and sell the honey. Really tastes much better than the store kind. A much more distinct flavor.

[cobroller]

Vietnam

[Moonie]

From what I've read (as a Mead maker) the only certified organic honey we have in the US comes from south america. The organic bit refers to the flowers the bees get the nectar from not how the honey is handled. In the US there are too many sources for the bees to get nectar from that do not meet the standard of organic.

[MtGun44]

Well, I agree, from organic bees. If it is actually honey, it is organic. Of course, the Chinese will
fake, pollute and poison anything, so watch out.

What a bunch of hooey.

Bill

[Iowa Fox]

Its really difficult to purchase good Honey. The fellow we get ours from is a reitred school teacher, second generation farmer, bee keeper. He lives in the middle of Amish country by a state park. He is very concerned about chemicals and GMO crops contaminating his honey. His is straight from the comb and never heated with just a little coarse filtering. Best honey we have found so far. The stuff you buy in the store is horrible after eating his. Early season honey is very light colored and the late season is very dark. I prefer the very dark.

[Blammer]

All wild honey. :)
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Beekeeping/DSCN6897.jpg

[starmac]

When I was a kid, I would occasionally rob bee trees. I would usually just reach in a knot hole with a knife to cut the comb with and dip the honey out with my hand. I don't really know if that was the best honey that I ever had, but it sure tasted good back then. I always liked to chew on the comb.

[DIRT Farmer]

Back in chemestry class I learned that there are two types of substance, organic and inorganic, so if it is not rock, it is organic by defination. That folks is about as good as the USDA organic label.

We raise a few hives, the Spring necter is light, the Fall pollon honey is dark. Dark is better for aclimatitising for allergies in my opinon.

[bucklind2]

I would have assumed that all honey that you got from your local beekeeper would be organic. I have seen honey spreads in stores that are not pure honey. That I do not buy. I have also heard that honey that is produced as close to your home as possible may actually help with allergies, since the pollen the bees make the honey from allegedly help with your tolerance to it. The honey I get from the beekeeper 2 miles from my house is darker and stronger than the stuff I find in the local supermarket.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

All wild honey. :)
Just curious ?
Wild ?
as in "Not" from a human kept apiary ?
or from captured wild bees that are now domesticated in a apiary ?

I've read about how to search/find and then capture a wild hive/swarm.
but the wild ones are so rare now.
Jon

[chrisw]

there are no native honeybees in the US. The wild ones might be better, or worse, but certianly cheaper!

I've given the true answers, both legal, and pratical. Its funny how many people hold opinions irregardless of fact or known truths :twisted:

Plus, many companies advertise their honey is organic but not a single one meets the USDA Organic Standards. In fact I could say mines organic, and unless I sell more than 5,000 worth of honey a year I can't even be sued if it isn't. Heck, lots of South American countries buy china honey, filter it, and sell it as organic.

soo, if your buying honey labled as organic, your first thought should be what else are they lieing about?

[TreeKiller]

As a beekeeper...

There is no such thing as organic honey. The reason is twofold, the simplest reason is that organic s a legal advertising term that under US law says the producer has been verified as an organic producer. Given that there is nobody who has standards nor certifies honey anyone who says their honey is organic is at least ignorant and false advertising at worse intentionally trying to deceive you.

second is for a product to be organic it must be, well, organic. That means that the producer garrentees their bees don't gather from a yard or field that has been been treated with almost any chemical. That the water the bees consume is pure... Given that bees have been known to fly 8 miles, that means that the producer must verify that not a single chemical has been used in years in umm... Pi are squared? 50 square miles surrounding each hive???


Not only that but beekeepers can't agree what's organic and not- most chemicals I use are naturally occuring in bee hives but the granolas say nope- gotta be non-chemical (what's H2O if not a compound) and some treat with sugar. Well, cane sugar isn't nnaturally occuring in a hive plus its how people "cheat" and illegal under most state laws to sell honey that contains sugar...



blah, blah, blah- sorry more than you ever cared to know. Just find a local beekeeper and buy it OR get your own bees!
As another bee keeper(PIMP I have a million lady's working for me) My opinion is the same as chrisw. With all the factory pollution and wind drift even the flowers in a remote place could be contaminated. Honey can be raw and unfiltered but not organic. Person on evil bay was selling organic beeswax. I ask him what the beekeeper was using for mite control in his hives and what chemicals the farmers were using within 2 miles of the hives. Never got a reply and he deleted my question from his add page.

[chrisw]

Yup, they have studied beewax at VT and looking at thousands of samples, including many so called natural they have not found a single sample that was pesticide and herbicide free.

Not only that but this also includes the supply of base that most beekeepers use in their new frames and hives.

The levels are not high in most cases. Are they safe to eat? Yes as long as your not a granola "organic freak". But, it might cause cancer in Ca.

btw- they have tested some that the levels are dangerously high too, but that's in the illegal stuff originally from China (even if the label says Brazil or vietnam). Just another reason to buy local!

[TreeKiller]

Every thing might cause cancer in Ca.[smilie=1:

[chrisw]

Every thing might cause cancer in Ca.[smilie=1:

LMAO- you got my joke LMAO

[jaysouth]

As I remember, DDT and benzene are both organic compounds as are all petrochemicals. I never could figure out what "organic" meant unliess it means free of organic compounds.

I personally think that produce wholesaler segregate their produce into three piles. The first pile is the prettiest and freshest. That is sold to restaurants, they won't buy anything else. The second pile is acceptable in terms of appearance and freshness. this second pile goes to grocery stores. What's left over, the dried and gnarly is relabeled "organic" and sold to yuppies who don't know the difference, at 2.5X.

[Blammer]

jaysouth, that's FUNNY! (but probably true. :) )