The truth behind fondants

[tidymeup]

Ahhh, purveyors of Apifonda at 2.5x the cost of bakers fondant. I see.

We supply Apipasta range from Zukan and are the UK distributor fair enough.

like many it’s a good product, well packaged and ready to use. I like knowing we’re feeding our colonies something I have backup on with traceability and relevant health certificates.

We enjoy using our Apipasta range as many other also do.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Toast has over 2,000 mg per kg of HMF.

That's it! no more cheese on toast for my bees!!!!

 

[tidymeup]

Utter tosh I’ve placed bakers fondant on literally hundreds of hives also helping a number of bee farmer friends. Funny how they or me have consistently lower losses than the National average.

My experiences tell me different but I am not blaming bakers fondant but some of the practices around the use and type of fondant.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Utter tosh I’ve placed bakers fondant on literally hundreds of hives also helping a number of bee farmer friends. Funny how they or me have consistently lower losses than the National average.

I remember Pete Little telling us of getting Bako fondant delivered to him by the pallet load

 

[Ian123]

Well at least there be a new internet scare storey for BBKA members to blame winter losses on

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Well at least there be a new internet scare storey for BBKA members to blame winter losses on

They're always open to a new excuse (it's the only thing new they'll try )

 

[Ian123]

My experiences tell me different but I am not blaming bakers fondant but some of the practices around the use and type of fondant.

Ok so what experiences…and you did very much blame fondant in your previous post

100% agree, we see this so many times people feeding home made or cheap fondant to bees and wondering why they no longer have them in the Spring.

That’s a very clear statement.!!Given the fact many good and very large commercial beeks have fed fondant why have we not seen link before. Maybe an article in the BFA magazine.

 

[tidymeup]

Ok so what experiences…and you did very much blame fondant in your previous post

That’s a very clear statement.!!Given the fact many good and very large commercial beeks have fed fondant why have we not seen link before. Maybe an article in the BFA magazine.

No mention of bakers fondant in my post.

 

[Ian123]

No mention of bakers fondant in my post.

Then what did you mean by cheap fondant or home made…….just to clarify of course. Also if you don’t mean bakers when saying cheap can you point us to this additional source. Plus these experiences of fondant cheap or otherwise causing losses.

 

[Anduril]

Modern Beekeeping but also started this in honey production. We still produce and pack honey under Happy Valley Honey.

I am not blaming bakers fondant as such with my comments but bad practises with fondant.

Fondant inverted by acid or heated to high or for to long do cause excessive bee mortality.

Also fondant not package correctly can get damp and start to mould and drip between the frames, also packaging incorrectly leave it dry with the bees unable to feed off it as readily as we would like

Now you have the opportunity to do a fondant masterclass for us. Above and below the crownboard.

 

[tidymeup]

Then what did you mean by cheap fondant or home made…….just to clarify of course. Also if you don’t mean bakers when saying cheap can you point us to this additional source.

Cheap out dated or free fondant that’s been given away or feeding the stuff meant for icing cakes.

Home made fondant is just that made at home from sugar that’s been over heated and started to go yellow or darken.

 

[Hachi]

in summation of 11 pages....... It seems expensive fondant is aimed at the hobbyist beek and the Beefarmers and large number of hive owners, all opt for bakers fondant to successfully overwinter their bee's.

 

[Ian123]

Cheap out dated or free fondant that’s been given away or feeding the stuff meant for icing cakes.

Home made fondant is just that made at home from sugar that’s been over heated and started to go yellow or darken.

Great……..So from that statement we can assume you have no experience of losses caused by in date bakers fondant purchased direct from suppliers, at half the price or cheaper. I believe that’s the stuff we’ve all been talking about!

 

[user 819]

Clearly as the thread started out, the bee equipment sellers aren't happy that beeks in the know can buy the same stuff branded otherwise for half the cost or cheaper.
Belgosuc make stuff for the bee vendors to sell at a dearer price then the same stuff they supply to other outlets which sell in a different packaging. The only difference is one is sold in useful 2.5kg packs and the other in a 12.5kg box. Add bee or bee logo to a product and see the price soar.

 

[Ian123]

in summation of 11 pages....... It seems expensive fondant is aimed at the hobbyist beek and the Beefarmers and large number of hive owners, all opt for bakers fondant to successfully overwinter their bee's.

Lol not necessarily I’m friendly with a bee farmer who buys by the pallet direct from the manufacture, in sufficient quantities to get a sensible price. Obviously no middle man and volume discounts apply. But if even Murray can’t get discounts that even it out the rest of us have little chance

 

[tidymeup]

in summation of 11 pages....... It seems expensive fondant is aimed at the hobbyist beek and the Beefarmers and large number of hive owners, all opt for bakers fondant to successfully overwinter their bee's.

Great……..So from that statement we can assume you have no experience of losses caused by in date bakers fondant purchased direct from suppliers, at half the price or cheaper. I believe that’s the stuff we’ve all been talking about!

No losses as in what I would consider dwindling from high HMF but I have seen many troubles troubles from using fondant incorrectly.

Buying fondant and having way to much, using it year after year causes trouble. HMF isn’t just caused by heat but also by time.

Crystal size is also important and does allow them to eat the fondant easier.

 

[Ian123]

Buying fondant and having way to much, using it year after year causes trouble. HMF isn’t just caused by heat but also by time.

Really any research or data to show bees having issues/trouble with old fondant, or any fondant. Or just a presumption based on age? Am sure I had a block that had been in the garage for 3 years, can’t remember the colony dwindling. Maybe we should contact Roger Patterson, he’s STILL looking for excuses for queen losses. Just blame it all on the fondant. It’s a theory with as much evidence as fondant causing dwindling

 

[Anduril]

Really any research or data to show bees having issues/trouble with old fondant, or any fondant. Or just a presumption based on age? Am sure I had a block that had been in the garage for 3 years, can’t remember the colony dwindling. Maybe we should contact Roger Patterson, he’s STILL looking for excuses for queen losses. Just blame it all on the fondant. It’s a theory with as much evidence as fondant causing dwindling

Fondant Collapse Disorder coming to an apiary near you.
Shhh, don't tell the Americans.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Toast has over 2,000 mg per kg of HMF.

I'm not giving my bees honey on toast then!

Oooops just read the rest of this thread and realise JBM beat me to it!

 

[Patrick1]

I do see the commercial side to this as with Patricks OP, these guys can't simply match the price that others can buy fondant for. Business is lost as often posts are made of good deals to be had.
Next we won't be able to make or mod our hives to our own or an open source design because we aren't buying there stuff.

No one could compete on the basis of comparing a robin reliant to a car with four wheels.
One healthy hive has a value of around £250 and you want to save £2.00 on a dubious, unregulated feed, No wonder we have so many winter losses.