plastic parts in honey

[Danny ter Haar]

Last night in the Netherlands, an investigating tv show got into “what is organic beekeeping” (biologisch as it is called in dutch)
They asked both distributors and beekeepers what it means.
Only few gave the (imho) right answers.
Since the Netherlands is so densely populated, no beekeeper can be given the “organic” label since the bees can always fly to an area where pesticides are used.

Then they made phone call with a swiss researcher who found plastic particles in honey
(and also in beer and milk btw)
See http://www.thelocal.ch/20140326/swiss-honey-contains-harmful-plastic-tv-report

In the Netherlands they tested 5 different brands of honey, 2 organic 3 non organic.
on average they found 210 particles per kilo (2.2 lbs) of honey
All 5 contained plastic particles.
The organic honey contained _more_ plastic particles than the none organic (which could imho be explained by mixing with HFC ?! 😎 )

source: links are in dutch (sorry)
http://keuringsdienstvanwaarde.kro.nl/seizoenen/2014/afleveringen/25-09-2014/plastic_deeltjes_in_honing
http://keuringsdienstvanwaarde.kro.nl/seizoenen/2014/afleveringen/25-09-2014

The last one, right side “bekijk de uitzending” (look at broadcast) at some point shows a factory in .NL where honey comes in 55 gallon barrels and is molten and then repackaged in smaller bottles.
Pretty impressive imho.

Just wanted to share

Danny

• This topic was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Danny ter Haar.

[susan rudnicki]

Danny–this is really interesting and unique news—thanks! To add to the investigative profile this brings up, I will put up this link again, from Food Safety News and their looking into the stuff called “honey” in the US market.

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey
Ultra-filtering Removes Pollen, Hides Honey Origins

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.VCWRP8ngVEM
That honey is not inspected for integrity, is adulterated with HFCS, water, malt syrup, and contaminated with heavy metals and pesticides has been shown to be a failure of our overseeing government agencies charged with this responsibility. This story is laid out dramatically in the film “Vanishing of the Bees”
By the way, the folks trying to keep a strict meaning to the definition of “organic honey” have been pressured to accept formic acid as a mite treatment into the allowed rules for organic honey production. The Federal agency, the Nat’l Organics Standards Board, is sorta being taken over by BigAg groupies. It is a troubling trend.

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