How often do you consider how the honey we buy in our local grocery store is made? You might think that it’s a simple process - Bees go off to collect nectar, they bring it home, and start making delicious honey for a beekeeper to carefully collect, package, and sell to you. Unfortunately, this isn’t the full story.
The majority of store bought honey is heated, watered down, refined, and packed with additives. All this happens before you see the jar of honey on the shelf, and it’s the hidden cost of modern day, big brand, low cost honey.
So now that you know some of the unpleasant truths, how does this affect you? What are we really trading in when we buy cheap, overly processed honey? Let’s explore some of the real differences between pure raw honey and commercial processed honey.
What is raw honey?
We describe honey as ‘raw’ when it has not been pasteurized and processed – basically just straight from the hives. Honey has probably been consumed since the beginning of man’s earthly existence. Humanity has cultivated honey now for thousands of years & until recent generations, honey was pure, raw and unprocessed.
Extracting raw honey nowadays involves a few simple steps. To calm the bees, beekeepers light pine needles, twigs or burlap in a metal hand-held ‘smoker’ & allow a few puffs of smoke to settle over the hives. It is then safe to remove the honeycomb frames from beehives. Next, they use a knife to uncap the wax sealing the cells. The uncapped frames are then placed in a honey extractor, which uses natural centrifugal force to gently spin the honey out of the comb. The honey flows to the bottom of the extractor and is collected in a container. Afterwards, the honey is allowed to settle and naturally separate from any remaining wax, debris or impurities. The honey is all cold extracted without using any heat. Lastly, it is poured into jars, preserving all of its natural enzymes, nutrients, and of course flavour, resulting in delicious raw honey.
Raw honey has a thicker, cloudier and generally creamier appearance, and may even contain bits of bee pollen, wax or honeycomb. Raw honey will naturally crystallize over time and is the world’s oldest living food. It is naturally vitamin, mineral & antioxidant rich, containing valuable enzymes & natural probiotics for gut health and wellbeing.
Certified organic raw honey is this same process but with stringent checks and controls. The bees must not roam into areas where pesticides & other chemicals have been used. No chemicals at all can be used in the housing, production, extraction or bottling of the raw honey. This ensures that the bees are kept safe & healthy to produce honey of the highest & purest quality.
What happens with commercial processed honey?
Sadly, honey processing on an industrial scale has allowed corporate entities to take control of almost the entire ecosystem. Flowers, bees, and hives are grown in controlled environments, often using pesticides & chemicals, as well as playing tricks on the bees, to maximise efficiencies & output at the expense of the health of the bees & the quality of the product. Like other factory-farmed animals, honeybees are victims of unnatural living conditions, genetic manipulation, and stressful transportation.
But it doesn’t stop there. Once harvested, a process of pasteurization begins. To allow for faster pouring and picture perfect clarity, the honey is pasteurized by heating it over an extended period of time. By performing such intensive heat treatment, all the yeast cells, plus a bunch of important enzymes, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and helpful compounds, are all destroyed.
Finally, the remaining product is filtered and can be watered down and/or mixed with any number of additives. Cheap and nasty High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), glucose syrup & other sugar syrups made from rice, wheat or sugar beet are frequently found to have been added to honey as extenders.
To highlight the extent of the problem, a recent EU Fraud Investigation found that all the UK honey tested failed its authenticity test! In fact nearly half of the honey imported into the European Union is suspected of being fake, according to the EU probe & Australia could very well be facing the same issue. Here is an extract from the March 2023 article;
“The research, spearheaded by the European Commission’s Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC), revealed the massive fraud and that many may be buying counterfeit honey labelled as authentic. According to European Commission investigations, 320 samples were tested and 147 (46%) of collected samples of honey imports are suspected of being adulterated with syrups and therefore in non-compliance with the requirements of the EU Honey Directive. The honey is suspected to have been cut with sugar syrups made from rice, wheat or sugar beet." Read more here.
Surely this form of honey is far from that which nature intended, with almost all of its natural goodness stripped away through pasteurization & extenders. The intense refinement and pasteurisation processes that processed honey endures, destroys the vast majority of flavonoids, antioxidants, and enzymes that boost wellbeing. The end result is there is little separating this honey from something entirely artificial.
So what are the benefits in investing in good quality, preferably organic, raw natural honey?
Firstly, it contains antioxidants like flavonoids and phenolic compounds, which help neutralize free radicals, reducing cell damage and supporting overall immune function. The presence of enzymes, vitamins (B-complex, C, D, and E), and essential minerals (calcium, iron, zinc, potassium) further enhances its nutritional value. Raw honey can contain more than four times the antioxidants of comparable processed honey variants. These antioxidants boost the immune system and keep your cardiovascular system in good health.
The antibacterial and antifungal properties of raw organic honey make it an effective natural remedy for wound healing and topical applications, preventing infections and promoting tissue regeneration. It can also alleviate sore throats and coughs, acting as a natural cough suppressant and soothing irritated mucous membranes. Glucose oxidase, for example, is an enzyme that when combined with water produces hydrogen peroxide, which has strong antibacterial properties. However, this is one such enzyme that is destroyed by the high temperatures of the pasteurisation process; and hence, is only found in raw honey.
Honey's unique blend of natural sugars (fructose and glucose) provides a quick source of energy, making it a natural alternative to processed sugars for a sudden or much needed energy boost. Additionally, its moderate glycaemic index helps maintain steady blood sugar levels.
Raw organic honey acts as a prebiotic, nourishing the beneficial bacteria in the gut, thereby supporting digestive health and improving overall gastrointestinal function. Raw honey has been used as a natural digestive aid for centuries, thanks to the digestion-facilitating enzymes it possesses.
Furthermore, honey's natural anti-inflammatory properties have been shown to reduce inflammation in various body tissues, providing potential benefits for conditions such as arthritis and allergies. It has also been suggested that consuming local raw organic honey may help reduce seasonal allergy symptoms by exposing the body to small amounts of local pollen, acting as a form of immunotherapy.
Wray Organic Online proudly supports our local raw honey producer - B Brothers Honey. Not only can we guarantee that this honey is raw, unpasteurized, pesticide and chemical free, but that it also has the most full and delicious taste, all produced with organic practices by a local father & son team.
As is the case with Manuka honey, the species and health of the flowers from which honey is produced strongly impacts its taste. B Brothers 500g & 1kg Raw Honey, & range of Manuka honey, simply has a stronger, more delicious umami flavour than other honeys, and in our opinion is the result of the best of beekeeping practices & a commitment to sustainability & quality.
All of B Brothers Honey’s products are made from pure raw honey, working with bees from the Gold Coast Hinterland to Byron Bay. Zero pesticides or chemicals are used in the hives or on their flowers. Using natural cold extraction methods, the honey is full of flavour and pro-wellbeing goodness – just the way nature intended. Good for you. Good for the bees. Good for our planet.