This week, The Guardian released an article detailing the issues with honey purity in the UK, particularly with honey imported from China. The UK is the world's biggest importer of Chinese honey and although supermarkets claim that every jar is 100% pure and can be traced back to the beekeeper, recent reports show that some of the global supply is diluted with sugar syrup. Whilst these findings have provoked changes in European food labelling laws, these do not automatically apply to the UK and British beekeepers are calling for changes to UK laws that will require supermarkets and retailers to label cheap or impure honey imports.
As climate change reduces global biodiversity, the supply of pure honey will become increasingly compromised; it is crucial now more than ever that we invest in the UK bee population. This year, we experienced one of the worst seasons ever for our bees caused by extreme weather. As a result, we had to feed our bees mid-season and supplement them with some sugar syrup. Whilst most beekeepers will harvest all of the honey from their hives, we like to leave some honey for the bees so they can feed on their own pure honey instead of artificial sugar syrup. With the increase in extreme weather perpetuated by climate change, beekeepers may have to supplement their bees with artificial sugar syrup more frequently, reducing the quality of their honey.
Our hives produce 100% pure raw honey and you can count on us to provide consistently high quality products. If your business is looking to improve its sustainability and social responsibility commitments, partnering with Bee Conservation will give you brand-wrapped Hives and a supply of 100% pure British honey delivered to your door. It's time we all do our bit for biodiversity and help the bee population!