Letters

Quality standards for honey

I would like to draw your attention to the compositional and quality standards imposed by the European Union. These standards are very similar to those of the Codex Alimentarius Commission's Worldwide Standard for Honey and the requirements of all the major importing countries.

Please see the European Union Council Directive 2001/110/EC of 20 December 2001, on honey*. Its provisions have to be brought into the national law of each EU member state by August 2003.

Any honey intended for import by an EU country must comply with the definition given in the Directive and must be free of non-honey syrups. The beekeeper must ensure the hive is free of any syrups used in feeding before honey is harvested from the hive.

Residues of antibiotic drugs in honey are illegal and must not be present. Antibiotics must not be used in bee husbandry unless a sufficiently long withdrawal period is used to ensure that no residues occur in the honey.

Some anti-Varroa drugs are permitted in honey, namely formic acid, lactic acid, thymol, menthol, mixed oils, flumethrin and fluvalinate without limit, coumaphos up to a limit of 100 parts per billion and amitraz up to 200 parts per billion. You will no doubt be aware of any differences from your own national legislation.

Importers and packers in the UK have to meet the stringent standards imposed by their customers and the enforcement authorities. The Honey Association wishes to work closely with beekeepers to ensure honey of a high quality is achieved by producers.

Elephants!

I enjoyed BfDJ 65 with its surprising front page. The article about deterring elephants with bees is very useful. I should remind everyone that research carried out on the Bees for Development/Niiro Wildlife Research Centre ‘Sustainable beekeeping for Africa’ project in Tanzania found that elephant dung makes the best smoker fuel! (See BfDJ 41 A bee smoker appropriate for African conditions)

Ole Heriz, Denmark

Back to skeps?

Why not keep bees in one or two skeps, the picturesque hives that were once the backbone of beekeeping in the UK? Historically skeps are made from straw, making them expensive and time consuming to create. Why not a skep of modern materials? | can see a skep moulded from polypropylene (the material used to make disposable tea and coffee cups). Using the traditional shape, which is ideal for bees, the hives would have good insulation and be waterproof. The new model could be moulded from a well made straw skep, left white or coloured like straw. An entrance hole is needed of course and why not slots at suitable spacings to take sheets of foundation to give the new occupants a good start? Perhaps modern houses could be designed with a row of bee boles to accommodate these modern skeps?

Frank Buckley, UK