Can honey be organic?

In an age of chemical enhancement and pesticide use - can we ever truly call honey “organic”?

Honey comes with many terms and qualifications - it can be raw, pasteurised, or filtered, pure, active, or organic. Depending on the origin, production quality, and location, honey has a whole host of descriptors that help to identify its health benefits and advantages. But what does it mean to be organic?

Honey detective Vaughn Bryant has something to say about counterfeit organic honey and the impact it has on the industry. As an active anthropologist and melissopalynologist in the US, he has uncapped insight into pollen and the challenges it faces, finding that 75% of honey in on US supermarket shelves contained no pollen. Having undergone an ultra-filtration process, the honey can be stripped of its origin, or “honey DNA”. How can we avoid this?
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In order to claim status as an organic honey seller, you have to prove that the bees have foraged entirely organically - the hive must be placed near clean water, on an area of four miles radius of natural organic crops, and away from polluted spaces.

The bees need to be managed responsibly, with natural treatments that leave no chemical residue, and the extraction, storage, and transportation processes must follow the regulations that align with the country of origin. It’s no mean feat, and something largely judged as unachievable in the UK due to the wide use of pesticides on British fields. All organic honey in the UK is imported, creating even more demand for organic honey from Europe, an area known for its plentiful open fields and natural approach to honey production.
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Our trusted beekeepers in Hungary, Transylvania, and Western Romania harvest honey foraged from many acres of untouched rural spaces including the South and West Carpathian mountains, bringing delicious honey in an ecologically and environmentally safe way to the UK and beyond. Get in touch to place your order!

Resources:
The Guardian
Inhabitat - Vaughn Bryant
Description breakdown
Organic honey standards
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Fragrant and delicate acacia honey with origins in the Hungarian hills, Transylvanian mountains, and rural fields of West Romania.
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Fragrant and delicate acacia honey with origins in the Hungarian hills, Transylvanian mountains, and rural fields of West Romania.
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Phone: +447947312843
Email: sales@beehurohoney.com