Organic honey must meet specific criteria related to the bees’ diet, habitats, and production methods. However, producing truly organic honey is difficult due to bees’ long-distance travel and the availability of organic beekeeping tools. Advocates claim organic honey is healthier and tastier.
Most people are familiar with honey, the sweet, sticky, edible substance made by nectar-drinking bees, but many are unaware that some commercial honey is classified as organic. While the exact definition of organic honey can vary according to the laws of an individual country, in the United States, it generally has to meet a number of criteria related to the bees’ diet and habitats, as well as how the honey is produced. Some people find organic honey to be healthier and tastier than its non-organic counterpart. Because it’s difficult to ensure that the recommended criteria for organic honey are met, however, many food experts in the United States and elsewhere are skeptical that producing this type of honey is even possible.
Like all honey, organic honey is produced when bees use enzymes to convert flower nectar into a sweet, golden syrup. Bees store this substance in waxy structures called honeycombs, which are found in their hive. Commercial honey producers then harvest this honey, bottle it and sell it. A producer can’t market his honey as organic, however, unless he meets a set of standards set by his country’s body that regulates organic food production.
In the United States, honey must meet a number of different conditions to be considered organic. First of all, it must be produced by bees that have not ingested substances thought to be non-organic, such as nectar extracted from flowers that have been exposed to runoff pollution. Bees must also live in a hive that is free of inorganic materials, such as pesticide-tainted wax, and must be kept free of mites and other parasites using only natural means. Furthermore, organic honey must be collected according to a series of procedures that protect the well-being of the bees and prevent contamination from synthetic materials.
According to organic honey advocates, there are two main reasons to choose organic over non-organic honeys. First, using an organic product can help limit your exposure to pesticides and other synthetic substances. Furthermore, it has been suggested that organic honey simply tastes better than honey that is not organic.
Many industry experts argue, however, that in the highly developed world of the early 21st century, honey that is truly organic is nearly impossible to produce. This is largely due to the fact that bees often travel long distances to collect nectar, and therefore the likelihood that they have come into contact with non-organic substances during honey production is high. Plus, it can be difficult to access organic versions of many essential beekeeping tools, such as wax honeycomb starter kits. Finally, because enforcement of organic honey regulations can be slow in countries like the United States, some unethical producers may place organic labels on honey that doesn’t actually meet the organic criteria.
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