Nuts!!

[eddy current]

We (my son and self) have recently gone into a partnership with a little old lady who's husband died recently(keen beekeeper for donkey years)and family who are all allergic to bee stings. 50/50 deal on honey and expenses, we look after the bees etc. Anyway we went to check what we have let ourselves in for yesterday and found 3 working WBC hives each with 3 absolutely chocker full supers. Took 1 super frame as an example, weighed it, 4+ pounds. So working on the laws of probability it looks as though we have something like 250 ish pounds of honey to process.
To cut to the chase we tasted it (after extraction) and my son reckoned there was a taste of nuts, he gave a sample to a friend without comment and he said the same thing. On checking around the hive sites there is some mature chestnut trees and hazels.
Would this have any effect on people allergic to nuts? Should we put a warning notice on the jars we sell?

Bob

 

[northernsoul]

Shouldn't think so. Anyway it's peanuts that people are allergic to. I doubt if there are any growing in Cumbria.

Reckon you've hit on a goldmine given the fact that breakfast cereal is sold often as 'honey nut etc etc'

Maybe you could think of a theme tune to go with your adverts.

Good luck

 

[Rosti]

There should be no to very very minimal risk for well matured, capped and hygienically extracted honey. The allergenic component of nuts that causes allergenic reaction is a small but specific section of the protein called a moity.
If you want to put your mind at rest you can test for the specific allergen protein pressence (any contract lab using a liquid chromo or an Elisa test method). Provided there is no protein present then there is no allergenic risk, irrespective of origin. It isn't just peanuts by the way it is the majority of nuts (including hazelnut as it happens). The same is true of the other known allergens such as celery, soya and lupin, which are identified and controlled through food legislation.

 

[DulwichGnome]

"This honey was produced in a garden that may contain nuts"

OR, as on the back of some plain chocolate,

"Cannot guarantee nut free"

 

[hedgerow pete]

how about produced by nuts