Organic Certification

[ccwonka]

Soooooo . . . I'm not seriously considering this, but looking at the regs . . . wow . . .

What constitutes "any pollution source which could cause the honey to become contaminated by, or as a result of, returning foraging bees"

Does a major road within 2 miles disqualify because of the pollution?  How about a mall?  Would one have to get a statement from all homeowners within two miles that they use no pesticides?

Looking at the regs it looks to me like the only way one could "reasonably gaurantee" organic honey would be to own a MASSIVE amount of land and have your hives in the center . . .

[charmd2]

The only way to guarantee your hive is organic is to move to some oddball island in the center of an ocean, just large enough for your hives. 

[ccwonka]

YUMMM!!!  Saltwater Hoeny!!  I guess that's just like saltwater taffy, right!?!?  :lol:

[AllenF]

Ya, but making sure every one of your bees are wearing their arm floaties is a pain.

[riverrat]

most of the commercial honey produced in the united states is produced in the upper midwest. a lot of that area is very remote but the chemicals the commercial producers use will disqualify them from being cert. organic

[Tucker1]

It seems that Organic Certification of Honey would be difficult in the absolute sense of the term.  You simply can't control the movement of bees as they gather nectar and pollen.  Assuming that bees will travel several miles if needed to gather nectar and pollen, it would be difficult to claim that they didn't wander onto Mr. Jones property and gather nectar from his apple trees, ...... a few days after he treated them for some type of apple blight.  (Sorry about the "run on" sentence.)

Stating that the honey was naturally produced might be an easier claim to make. Assuming that this means that you (yourself) did not introduce any abnormal industrial chemicals into the honey making process or into the hives. This whole topic is quite subjective.

Regards,
Tucker1

[BjornBee]

Organic is a joke when it comes to honey.

Here is an interesting tidbit......I bee researcher wanted chemical free wax to do some experiments. She looked and looked. None to be found. So, she decides to go to a south American country that actually produces organic honey by the boat loads. She figures, that would be the best wax possible. She goes down, picks it up and brings it back to the states. Then after getting here, tests it, before conducting the studies to get a "purity" base line. The stuff was loaded with chemicals.

Seems all that "organic" stuff we get from other countries, was "certified" one time, to get the organic paperwork, and nobody looks or tests it again.

I was told years ago, that nobody east of the Mississippi could get organic honey as the requirements for the 2 mile land use portion made it impossible.

I have tested yards where I thought the bees would be rather clean. I was shocked at the stuff they drag in from down the street. I may not use chemicals, but many people within two miles of my operations do.