We are excited to announce the release of the third video in our “Canadian Beekeeping Minutes” YouTube series of introductory beekeeping demonstrations. The winter season is a great opportunity for beekeepers to brush up on beekeeping practices and knowledge when we’re not running off our feet tending to our bees. Keep reading below to find out what this new demonstration is all about and where to find it.
Report: Honey Authenticity Surveillance Results*
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) examines the
authenticity of Canadian honey through sampling, testing and collaboration of
honey samples obtained from all around the world. The purpose of this process
is to, “detect misrepresentation of honey adulterated with foreign sugars in
both domestic and imported honey sold in Canada.” To detect any foreign sugars,
honey samples were tested using two analyses: Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis
(SIRA) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analyses. These analyses compare
specific characteristics of the sugars present in the samples to known characteristics
of other sugar molecules in order to determine the source and origin of the
sugars in a sample. This reveals whether the sugars present in a honey sample
are naturally occurring in honey or are foreign and have been added, thereby revealing
any adulteration of the honey product.
In the category of targeted sampling, 16/127 samples were domestic and 111/127 were imported, with adulteration analyses results revealing:
- 110/127 samples were satisfactory
- 17/127 samples were unsatisfactory
- 16/17 of these were imported honey samples
In the category of marketplace monitoring, 103/148 samples were domestic and 45/148 were imported, with adulteration analyses results revealing:
- 145/148 samples were satisfactory
- 3/148 samples were unsatisfactory
- 3/3 of these were imported honey samples
“As a result of CFIA’s actions, an estimated 83,461 kg of adulterated honey was prevented from being sold in the Canadian marketplace [over the most recent round of honey sampling and testing].”* As almost all of the adulterated honey samples were imported (except for one), which goes some way to demonstrate that Canadian honey is a quality, pure product.
* Government of Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency. "Report: Honey authenticity surveillance results (2019 to 2020)" Full report available ONLINE.
Appreciating Atlantic Honey
Beekeepers are often eager to share the experience of tasting their hard-earned harvest and watch the expression of the Atlantic honey experience spread across the taster’s face. But, by being a beekeeper that sells honey, there also comes a responsibility to ensure this specialty product, produced and harvested by our hardworking Maritime bees and beekeepers, is not taken for granted. Instead, honey should be enjoyed with the full appreciation and awareness that it deserves. This is especially important during the holiday season of giving and appreciating, which is often expressed in the way of gifts. But beekeepers beware, although gifting honey is a lovely way to share this unique Atlantic specialty, receivers should be made aware of the value of this special gift. Unfortunately, in today’s society, much of a product’s value seems to be indicated by its price tag. So, if beekeepers choose to gift honey but not communicate its unique value or selling honey for less than full market value a full appreciation may not be realized. We want to ensure there is no unintentional depreciation in the value of Atlantic honey. Getting beekeepers talking about this topic and working together on improving the appreciation of Atlantic honey is to everyone’s benefit.
Canadian Beekeeping Minutes Demonstration #3
Make sure you are prepared for managing varroa mites next beekeeping season! Watch this ATTTA demonstration to learn how to perform an alcohol wash varroa mite sample, HERE.Varroa mite management is one of the most important parts of honey bee pest and disease management. Management of varroa mites begins with performing a round of varroa mite sampling to get a measurement of the present varroa mite infestation level. Watch this ATTTA demonstration for step-by-step instructions on how to sample for varroa mites using the alcohol wash method. For more information on varroa mite management, to make sure both beekeepers and hives are prepared with the appropriate tools and knowledge to combat varroa mites next beekeeping season, please see ATTTA’s factsheet: Varroa Mite Management Options for Atlantic Canada.
Connecting with ATTTA Specialists