Chemical Residues?

[TBRNoTB]

How long before we end up in the same boat? not only with commercially produced honey (as in imported) but with locally produced! looks like they have been heavy on the liquid when clearing the supers.
See below
(With thanks to 'Seldom Fools Apiculture')
Regards
TBRNoTB


Posted: 26 Nov 2010 06:56 AM PST

I just came across it, but the Ottawa Citizen ran a disturbing piece two weeks ago about the results of chemical residue testing honey found for sale in Canada

Four out of 10 honey jars sold in Canada contain elevated levels of chemical residues, newly released government test results show.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency last year found that 61 per cent of honey complied with federal chemical-residue requirements — far short of the agency’s compliance target of 95 per cent, according to CFIA’s 2009/10 performance report.

CFIA goes on to say that there’s “no health risk” to consumers, because the majority of residues are something called “bee calming agents” used during the honey harvest to drive the bees out of the honey area of the hive. “However, they are not currently regulated by Health Canada, as they are not agricultural chemicals or veterinary drugs”.

Yep. There’s nothing to worry about, but we also have no data or regulations to make the claim. The two most common compounds that they found were benzaldehyde (a central nervous system agent) and butyric anhydride (a compound listed as corrosive, causing respiratory tract burns).

What I find even more disturbing is that while CFIA has a target of 95% compliance for all food testing, honey has never met this target. The closest was 92% in 2006/07 and it’s been a steady downhill slide from there. In comparison “All other food products tested by CFIA meet the 95-per-cent compliance target”.

OK, fine. I’ve scared the living daylights out of you. Now, what? Simple. Run, do not walk, to your local beekeeper for all of your honey. Ask the question: how do you clear the bees when you harvest? If the answer involves a fume board or similar, turn around and leave. Check the label, the next time you’re looking at honey in your neighbourhood Mega-Mart. You’ll be surprised to see just how much of it is a blend of Canadian and imported honey. Argentina and Australia are the most common ones, but I’ve seen Bulgarian honey from one brand and some Indian honey that makes the laughable claim of being “certified organic”.

 

[For want of a better word]

Benzaldehyde occurs naturally in almonds,cherries and other fruit, has a low toxicity and is not proven to be carcinogenic
Butyric anhydride is a very volatile and corrosive substance and it not something I would put any where a food source, let alone bees!

It has beengoing on for centuries......................
Arsenic by the ton was produced here in the Tamar Valley to kill bolweavels etc on the cotton crop, they use other nasties now!
Potatoes from many granitic soil areas will contain quite high levels of arsenic, arsenic is also used to make factory farmed chickens put on weight!

Believe you me, I am not a environmentallistic tree ~ hugger, and show no sign of becoming a vegan, however I am concerned that food production worldwild is often blatently ignoring WHO guidelines in the chase for massive profits for the few!!
Most plants producing toxic chemicals do so to defend themselves against predation, just because they are "natural" or found in nature does not make them any less harmful.
Chemists just synthesise them to make large ammounts availiable, and that is why they enter our food chain ( Not the "Chemists"!! although I have heared it said that the average American has so much toxic chemicals in their bodies they could not be sold as food!!)
Why these "clearing" chemicals need to be used beats me?
I saw a vid on U~TUBE of a commercial N.American Beek. clearing the supers of bees with a motor driven blower.... so why subject them to toxic chemicals.

Now what was that recipe for oxallic acid?

 

[RoofTops]

You can get various things for driving bees out of supers, they are usually sprayed or trickled onto a cloth. I wouldn't touch them for the very reason stated in the quotes. I try to keep chemicals out of my honey.

However, the fact that a chemical is detected does not always mean we should get too alarmed. It has been said that if you dropped a sugar lump into Loch Lomand the scientists could detect it, but it wouldn't mean drinking the water would rot your teeth.

The chemical treatments like oxalic acid trickling are done when no honey crop is being gathered so contamination of the following seasons honey should not occur. OA is also present naturally in honey, albeit at low levels.

Of greater concern are the residues in wax foundation. There is a story from the early days of varroa in the UK before synthetic pyrethroids were approved that the NBU did a test on some bees and fond traces of pyrethroids. The beekeeper admitted he had used it - two years earlier. This shows how persistant the chemicals are and probably explains why pyrethroid resistance built up so quickly - the mites were exposed to a low dose of pyrethroids in the wax 12 months a year. It should also serve as a warning to those who want to go back to pyrethroids on the assumption the mites are no longer resistant.

 

[Brosville]

Having been to a recent screening of "Vanishing of the Bees" (should be compulsory viewing for all beekeepers), Maryann Frasier at Penn State is finding petrifying numbers of pesticide residues in hives - from memory as many as 46 in one! It is worrying enough to find residues of one chemical, but when you have a multiplicity, the prospects for "synergy" are immense, making them even more dangerous........ work has been done that shows our old friends, the neonicotinoids can be rendered a thousand times MORE toxic by admixture with commonly available fungicides.
I think it is impossible to overstate the dangers of chemicals in our environment, and as has been said before, bees are the canaries in our coalmine.
On a more commercial level, all it's going to take is some eejit apology for a journalist (Melanie Philips from the Mail springs to mind) to do a scare story about those residues, you won't be able to give honey away............

 

[For want of a better word]

Have to aggree to that !
Our heartfelt thanks go out to James Lovelock for inventing the electron capture device enabling us guys in white coats and rediculously large goggles to detect them!!

Edwina Curry scared us of eggs .................full of salmonella
Thatcher caused a salt shortage scare or was it a common sence scare... some one remind me! (not)

​

 

[TBRNoTB]

Mail

On a more commercial level, all it's going to take is some eejit apology for a journalist (Melanie Philips from the Mail springs to mind) to do a scare story about those residues, you won't be able to give honey away............

Regards
TBRNoTB

 

[For want of a better word]

You would think the great unwashed would be wised up to this envirodisaster journalism wouldn't you?

CJD,BSC, Cloning, GM Rabbit food, eggs,chickens,pigs trotters,braun,Itilian wine,MMR,Tescos Tartrazine fruitless squash, Double dekker buses on the moon.....

BA in english maybe...............BSc in Science..............definitely not!!!

 

[victor meldrew]

On a more commercial level, all it's going to take is some eejit apology for a journalist (Melanie Philips from the Mail springs to mind) to do a scare story about those residues, you won't be able to give honey away............

A tad disingenuous calling a fellow alarmist an "eejit."
Make your mind up chemicals or not , please don't let commercialism compromise your ethics

John Wilkinson

 

[For want of a better word]

reading the locals of the above participants it seems

the west rules OK?

 

[For want of a better word]

South West .........................................Wigan don't count !

 

[victor meldrew]

South West .........................................Wigan don't count !

Now then my lovely wee PISKY .
Stick to you 'Joan the Wad' .
Leave Wigan out of this .
Guess you must be a masochist , throwing out challenges when handicapped by a PB damaged brain

John Wilkinson

 

[TBRNoTB]

Now then my lovely wee PISKY .
Stick to you 'Joan the Wad' .
Leave Wigan out of this .
Guess you must be a masochist , throwing out challenges when handicapped by a PB damaged brain

John Wilkinson

Us gotta stick together even if you is big-wiggin
Regards
Derek

 

[Nellie]

Somewhat torn on this in some respects.

Very easy to get your knickers all knotty over those evil chemicals without actually applying some context to it. Anyone remember the joke spam mail that went round a few years about about the evil chemical Di-Hydrogen Monoxide, that tasteless, odourless, colourless chemical responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide every year? The campaign to get it banned actually started to get a bit of momentum for a while until someone pointed out it's a fancy term for water.

Of greater concern are the residues in wax foundation. There is a story from the early days of varroa in the UK before synthetic pyrethroids were approved that the NBU did a test on some bees and fond traces of pyrethroids. The beekeeper admitted he had used it - two years earlier. This shows how persistant the chemicals are and probably explains why pyrethroid resistance built up so quickly - the mites were exposed to a low dose of pyrethroids in the wax 12 months a year. It should also serve as a warning to those who want to go back to pyrethroids on the assumption the mites are no longer resistant.

Agree with this point however and it's one of the main drivers to me looking to get rid of foundation completely. I try very hard to limit the amount of chemical treatments that go into my hive so it seems daft to introduce via foundation chemicals I wouldn't otherwise go near with a 10 foot bargepole.

The number of studies out and about showing just what is retained in wax (most of it put there by the beekeeper it has to be said) does concern me and while abandoning foundation completely might be considered an overreaction, I do think it highlights the need to regularly cycle out wax in brood and super frames.

As for fume boards, I can't see me ever wanting to expanding to a scale large enough where they'd be a major consideration and find it hard to reconcile their use given everything I've said above regardless of how otherwise harmless stuff like beequick claims to be.

 

[Hivemaker.]

(most of it put there by the beekeeper it has to be said)

From what i have seen, i would dissagree that most of it has been put in by beekeepers,a lot yes,but not most.......more like most of it has been put in by the bee's i would say,after being spread around the countryside by humans.

 

[BKF Admin]

I have thought in the past about premium versus standard foundation.
I know from Th**nes the difference comes down to country of origin.and yet I know of at least one beekeeper who imports wax and exchanges through Th**nes,I assume that it is classed as uk origin and added to the premium wax sheets ?

If you are buying wax foundation sheets you just dont know what you are adding into the hive..

 

[BBG]

You would think the great unwashed would be wised up to this envirodisaster journalism wouldn't you?

CJD,BSC, Cloning, GM Rabbit food, eggs,chickens,pigs trotters,braun,Itilian wine,MMR,Tescos Tartrazine fruitless squash, Double dekker buses on the moon.....

BA in english maybe...............BSc in Science..............definitely not!!!

Makes you glad all labels mention NOT to feed the amber nectar under a certain age:

http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpr/archives/2009/news4609.htm#honey

 

[Nellie]

(most of it put there by the beekeeper it has to be said)

From what i have seen, i would dissagree that most of it has been put in by beekeepers,a lot yes,but not most.......more like most of it has been put in by the bee's i would say,after being spread around the countryside by humans.

Last couple I read put fluvalinate as the most prevalent compound present in wax. While it does have other uses, from a beekeeping perspective it's better known as Apistan. Then comes the huge long list of everything else that gets sprayed on or around plants and other gunk put in beehives.

 

[Finman]

.
I hope that your discussion means only UK honey even if the report was from Canada.

As far as I have read what you put into your smokers, you surely get residuals into your honey. But never mind. Smoked fish has same ingrediments.

 

[Norton]

Do you see Canadian honey on the supermarket shelves in the UK?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Last couple I read put fluvalinate as the most prevalent compound present in wax. While it does have other uses, from a beekeeping perspective it's better known as Apistan. Then comes the huge long list of everything else that gets sprayed on or around plants and other gunk put in beehives.

Yes there seems to be a lot of this gunk, 118 kinds.....athough the link refers to USA...i expect its much the same here.

http://mbka.info/documents/American Report.pdf