I love Honey. If the label says organic or if it says pure does that mean that nothing has been added.?

Question

If anything is added what is it. Also is it true that crystalisation of honey is a good sign of its quality. Sorry about the multi question. ?

I should have said Granulate not crystalisation. I bought a Jar of pure honey today and it says that all pure honey will granulate and that thats best proof of its quality. Also if honey does'nt go off why has the Jars got a best before date on them as mine does ?

someone has asked check the ingriendients on the jar. There is none.. Honey is honey but I do have my suspisions that its not just honey..

Answer 1

Crystallization is a sign that the sugar has crystallized, but not really an indication of quality. I've seen supermarket honey crystallize as well as honey from local beekeepers which presumbly is of better quality.

In regards to organic honey, I'm a skeptic and believe it's more of a marketing ploy since bees are foragers.

Organic implies that the bees have not been treated with any anti-biotics or other chemicals, but it also implies that the nectar is gathered from flowers that have not been sprayed with pesticides, which I think is hard to control since bees gather from a wide area.

Answer 2

For the FDA to certify something as "organic" it has to meet some criteria. The soil (where the flowers are) from where the bees collect their nectar should be free of pesticides, no chemicals can be added and the honey must be collected at normal temepratures, not under heat. Nothing can be added to the honey during any part of the collection process. So, if the bottle says FDA approved, you are getting honey as pure as Pooh had.
Good quality honey should not drip from the spoon, it must be rather gooey (this is a sign that the honey is mature, which has more vitamins and minerals) and might end up sugared (just heat it slowly in a double boiler and it will go back to normal). Raw honey, on the other hand, does not qualify as organic, since nobody can certify where the bees get their nectar from, and it looks rather cloudy in the bottle, but it's the most nutritious one.
Word of advice, never feed a baby under a year raw honey. There's a minimal chance of botulism bacteria being present there, so it's better to wait till they are over a year ofage.

Answer 3

Pure honey means nothing is added to it. 'Organic' honey means that the crops the bees pollinate are not sprayed with insecticides and have a soil association certificate. If your honey does granulate, stand the jar in hot water or put in the microwave for a few seconds (minus the lid of course) to get it runny again

Answer 4

I don't think so... Although I think definitions are something people wrangle about. There are definitions of organic honey here:

http://www.beekeeping.org.uk/NL/info/info3.html

Basically, the bees have to be kept near land which isn't treated with pestecides etc.

Regards to "pure" I think this might relate to how it is sifted/treated. It doens't necessarily mean anything is added, more how much of the pollen is removed.

I understand that "pure" can (and is) used by people more as a marketing tool rather than a strict defined standard of honey.

Checking the ingredients is the best way to see if anything is added!

Answer 5

When it comes to honey, I watched a segment on TV once that said honey can never truly be labeled organic, due to lack of control of the bees (they may get nectar from a flower that's been chemically treated, etc.). Pure honey should mean that there's nothing in the container but extracted honey.
Crystalization is an indication of the sugars in the honey.

Answer 6

There should be no need to add anything to honey, it's the only foodstuff that won't go off with time. Crystallization isn't a sign of quality, just what the bees have been feeding on. Organic presumably means they were feeding on organic flowers.

Answer 7

That's what it should mean. Check the ingredients list. Apparently honey is the one food that doesn't spoil/mold. I never heard that about crystallization. However, that doesn't hurt the product. Just set the jar of honey in a pan or bowl of hot water and they melt.

Answer 8

nothing is organic....I work at an "organic" production facility and you wouldn't believe the stuff that is added on. So if you want to believe the labeling go right ahead. And for the record Soy Milk has a ton of sugar added to it as well.

Answer 9

sometimes they add preservatives or sweeteners. all organic means is that the fields that the bees are on are grown organically

Answer 10

how can it be pure its in a jar ?