There is so much of it online, it would be easier for you to just google it, then you can decide what to believe
It seems to me there are at least three conflated topics running in this thread.
And - it doesn't matter what one believes, it is a matter of objective facts, as far as reasonably possible.
So, the topics:
1. HMF in honey for humans, and more generally in food for humans.
2. HMF in honey for bees.
3. HMF in feed for bees.
HMF in honey for humans, and more generally in food for humans
Although the EU, WHO and FERA stipulate HMF levels in honey, this appears not to be related to food safety
but more to to with the standard of honey placed on the market - a quality assurance function.
From FERA
Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)
"In honey HMF is a quality marker, Annex II of Council Directive 2001/110/EC lays down composition criteria for honey, including HMF content (determined after processing and blending). HMF is limited to 40 mg/kg in general (except baker’s honey, which is exempt), and 80 mg/kg in honey declared to be from a tropical region.
Fresh honey generally contains less than 15mg/kg HMF, but over 40 mg/kg is used to guarantee the honey has not undergone excessive heating during processing. Fera’s HPLC-UV method can accurately quantify levels of HMF to prove your products satisfy these criteria. Fera’s testing for HMF can be used accurately as a quality guide, aiding consumer trust in your product by verifying quality claims. Testing can also aid wholesalers and retailers, by ensuring the authenticity of the products at any point in the supply chain and providing evidence products offered for sale are true-to-label. "
Overall, there seems to be little concern about HMF levels being harmful to humans; this quotation from
https://conovehonakopci.cz/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/HMF-toxicity-2010.pdf seems to be similar to many others:
"In the only long-term carcinogenicity study in rats and mice no tumours or their precursory stages were induced by 5-HMF aside from liver adenomas in female mice, the relevance of which must be viewed as doubtful. Hence, no relevance for humans concerning carcinogenic and genotoxic effects can be derived. The remaining toxic potential is rather low. Various animal experiments reveal that no adverse effect levels are in the range of 80-100 mg/kg body weight and day. Safety margins are generally sufficient. However, 5-HMF exposure resulting from caramel colours used as food additives should be further evaluated"
Although - there is always room for more research.
HMF in Honey for Bees
Working from the FERA numbers, HMF is limited to 40 mg/kg in general, and 80 mg/kg in honey declared to be from a tropical region, one could possible hope that these limits would also be safe for bees - the work reported in
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/1/18/pdf seems to bear this out:
" high concentration of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) (e.g., 15 mg HMF per kg honey) indicates quality deterioration for a wide range of foods. In honey bee colonies, HMF in stored honey can negatively affect bee health and survival. Therefore, in the laboratory, we experimentally determined the effects of HMF on the longevity and midgut integrity of worker Apis mellifera carnica by feeding bees standard diets containing five concentrations of HMF (100, 500, 1000, and 1500 ppm). Simultaneously, we also examined HMF's effect on Nosema ceranae spore counts within infected honey bees. We performed an immunohistochemical analysis of the honey bee midgut to determine possible changes at the cellular level. No correlation was established between HMF concentration and N. ceranae spore counts. Negative effects of HMF on bees were not observed in the first 15 days of exposure. However, after 15 to 30 days of exposure, HMF caused midgut cells to die and an increased mortality of honey bee workers across treatment groups."
Although that is admittedly about HMF levels in general, rather than in honey specifically.
The production of fondant does seem to be a slight issue, in that manfacturers will specifically mention HMF levels - AST group, parent company of Tait and Lyle, specify less than 20ppm for their Bee Fondant. (my maths is probably wrong, but I think that works out to 20mg per kg)
https://www.sugarandsyrup.com/emsha...Group-Fondants-Icing-Sugars-v2.compressed.pdf
The real culprit seems to be the production of bee feeds from high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which seems to be common in the USA. It seems to be very sensitive to process and temperature and seems to be able to produce huge levels of HMF -
http://people.uwplatt.edu/~cornettc/Ag and Food Publish.pdf - Interesting stuff.
My conclusion - HMF probably is not bad for humans, and this is a beekeeping forum. HMF at high levels is harmful to bees, but any fondant (uncoloured, as near to natural as possible to natural sugar) will probably have low HMF. Store it at low temperatures.
