Description
To produce honey, the bee draws up the nectar through a proboscis,
with the flow routed to the honey sac and isolated from the digestive tract with the proventicular valve. Hypopharyngeal gland
secretions mix with the nectar and begin the conversion process.
Once the bee returns to the hive the material is vomited up and
re-ingested by local workers who repeat this process until the
moisture content is stabilized at 82% solids and the sugars inverted.
Once this "ripening" process is completed, the honey is sealed in
combs with a waxy substance, another secretion of the bee.Despite the lay person’s association of natural products with nontoxic endpoints, antiquity and modem scientific literature cite
instances of poisonings from honey. Nectar from a variety of
plants, primarily Ericaceae (Rhododendron, Azalea, Andromeda,
Kalmia spp.), has produced a toxic product. The consumption of
200+ million pounds of honey yearly in the U.S. without reported
incident is testimony to the vigilance of beekeepers. Other toxic
honey types are those from the tutu tree of New Zealand (actually
a honeydew), henbane (Datura metel), Datura stramonium and
Hyoscyamus niger, yellow jasmine (Jessamine), euphorbia and
arbutus.1 Honey is not recommended as a food for infants due to
the possible contamination of honey with Clostridium spores.2
Honey is generally described in terms of its color and floral type
(source of the nectar). Although most honeys are multi-sourced,
a few are monofloral types, most often as a consequence of commercial pollenization or simply the absence of competing sources
of nectar. Examples of monofloral types include clover, alfalfa,
tupelo, "Orange" (actually "citrus" since grapefruit is present),
gallberry and cotton (White, 1978).
Since honey is considered to be a food, it is regulated according
to standards set for food commodities. The standards (grades) for
honey are described below. As a food, there is no regulatory
limitation on the consumption of honey. Annual per capita consumption of honey (in 1984) was 1.0 lbs (USDA/ERS, 1985).
Average daily adult (18+ years) consumption in foods is 2 grams
(with a maximum of 71 grams for the 95th centile) (USDA, 1982).
(Daily per capita consumption for honey is approximately from 2
grams.)
Approximately 212.4 million pounds are produced in the U.S.
annually, with 8.7 million pounds exported and another 25.2 million pounds imported. Approximately one-third of the honey in
the U.S. is sold directly to the consumer.
