May 20, 2021 is recognised as World Bee Day. The day was established to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development. The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries. We all depend on pollinators and it is, therefore, crucial to monitor their decline and halt the loss of biodiversity. Read more at https://www.un.org/en/observances/bee-day

HONEY

Honey is a natural sweet substance that is produced by honey bees from the nectar of flowering plants (blossom/nectar honey). It is also produced from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts of plants (honeydew honey) which honey bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in the honey comb to ripen and mature. Honey is produced by the bees as a secondary source of food in times of harsh weather conditions or food scarcity (1,2).

Jamaican honey is said to have a unique taste which places high foreign demand on the product. It is the main commercial hive product sold locally and is reasonably the cheapest. Other hive products such as pollen, propolis, royal jelly, queen bees and bee stock have recently been receiving increased interest by local bee keepers and first time entrepreneurs. Outside of the food industry there is a small scale production of hair oils, candle, wax ornaments and soaps (3).

Honey is composed of a wide variety of sugars (80-85%), predominantly fructose and glucose along with organic acids, water (15-17%), protein (0.1-0.4%), 0.2% ash, solid particles derived from honey collection and minor quantities of enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and other chemical substances like antioxidants (4-7). The colouration of honey ranges from near colourless to dark brown. The flavour and aroma of honey varies depending on the origin of the plant. The consistency of honey can be fluid, viscous or partly to entirely crystallised (1). Apiarian products are naturally rich in antioxidants (enzymatic and nonenzymatic), minerals, and simple sugars. This ripened/mature honey is a sought after delicacy from nature.

Recent studies have shown that the honey bee population has experienced a notable decline which has led to an increased demand for pollination services. Knowledge of the causative factor for this decline is non-existent however several stressors have been identified as having a negative effect on honey bee health. Common stressors include biological agents such as viruses, mites, microsporidia (8) and chemical agents like pesticides (9). Beekeepers actively apply control strategies to reduce the prevalence of mite within their honeybee colonies involving pesticide-based treatments, for example Apistan to control Varroa mites. As these chemicals are used inside beehives the probability of bee and bee product contamination is very high.

In serious cases, bees are killed by the use of pesticides which subsequently decreases bee population. These chemicals have the potential to find their way into honey and other apiarian by-products such as wax, royal jelly and propolis and pose a risk to consumers. Consequently, it is of great importance that these products are monitored for the presence of pesticide residues in order to determine if the expected characteristics of this nutraceutical are preserved for consumer health protection, international commercial competition and better product quality (10).

Written by: Ms Terri Lee Patterson

A graduate of the MSc in Food and Agro Processing Technology Programme at The University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica. She is currently employed in the area of Quality Assurance, Dairy Industries (Jamaica) Ltd

The above article was featured in CAS JAMAICA FEBRUARY 01, 2021 VOL. 2 FOOD SAFETY NEWSLETTER

To learn more about Jamaica’ Bee Control Act please visit: https://moj.gov.jm/sites/default/files/laws/The%20Bees%20Control%20Act.pdf

To learn more about our Life Sciences programmes, please visit:  https://www.mona.uwi.edu/lifesciences/undergrad.htm

To learn more about our Food and Agro-processing Technology programme, please visit: https://www.mona.uwi.edu/chemistry/msc-fapt-programme-offerings

Meet our Entomologist, Dr, Dwight Robinson: https://www.mona.uwi.edu/lifesciences/dwight.htm