> I have read that it is a bad idea to
> invert sugar using acid as it generates
> HMF, which is bad for bees. Is that true?
Yes, HMF at high levels is almost inevitable when inverting sucrose with
acids or cream of tartar.
I've never understood why, other than as an unavoidable side-effect of the
heating required to make fondant, anyone would invert any sugar for bees, or
buy the idea that "invert sugar" is going to be any more acceptable to bees
than sugar. The bees produce the enzyme that breaks the sucrose down to
fructose and glucose without even trying, and many flower nectars are mostly
sucrose, and are consumed directly by the bees. Anyway, HMF...
My notes say that Honey extracted with an HMF level of 410 ug/100 g had an
HMF level of 1250 ug/100g HMF result from "melting in a hot oven", settling,
bottling, and storage for 9 days.
HMF rose in honey to about 3200 ug/100g after storage for one year
HMF in 1728 commercial honey samples from four laboratories between 1960 and
1974 showed an average HMF content of 1240 ug/100 g.
(The above from "Hydroxymethylfurfural and honey adulteration." White,
Siciliano - Journal - Association of Official Analytical Chemists 63: 7-10
1980)
The HMF content of citric acid catalyzed invert syrup is 170000 to 650000
ug/100 g.
("Chemical and Functional Properties of Food Saccharides" Tomasik - 2003)
One older paper in German concludes that HMF in syrups for bees:
1) Are acceptable at up to 30 mg / kg HMF (3000 ug / 100 g, or 30 ppm)
2) The HMF LD-50 was near 100 ppm (10000 ug / 100 g)
(Jachimowicz, T. and G. El Sherbiny. 1975. "Zur Problematik der Vermendung
von Invertzucker fur die Bienenfutterung". ("On the problem of using of
invert sugar for honey bees") Apidologie 6:121-143.)
A 2009 study done in the USA found similar values:
In HFCS-55, 150ppm (15000 ug / 100g) HMF treatment, after 19 days, 50% of
the bees died.
This is very close to the 16 days that Jachimowicz reported for the 150 ppm
HMF (15000 ug / 100g).
The 250 ppm (25000 ug / 100g) treatment resulted in higher mortality, over
time, than any of the treatments.
A comparison on 26 day mortality revealed that the 57, 100, 150, and 200 ppm
(57000, 100000, and 20000 ug / 100g) treatments were not found to differ
significantly (Figure 4B). However, the 250 ppm (25000 ug / 100g) HMF,
HFCS-55 enriched treatment indicated a significantly lower survival after 26
days
("Formation of hydroxymethylfurfural in domestic high-fructose corn syrup
and its toxicity to the honey bee (Apis mellifera)." J Agric Food Chem 2009
Aug;57(16):7369-76 LeBlanc, Eggleston, Diana Sammataro, Cornett, Dufault,
Deeby, St Cyr)
So, HMF levels in ug / 100g were:
Extracted honey: 410
Heated honey: 1250
Average commercial honey: 1240
(Germany) Acceptable Level For Bee Feed: 3000
Year-old honey: 3200
LD-50: 10000
Acid-hydrolyzed sucrose: 170000 to 650000
But if one simply must break down that sucrose, invertase is an enzyme that
inverts the sucrose, and produces zero HMF in doing so. Most candy makers
and pastry shops use it by the gallon.
http://partyshopga.com/Invertase-for-Fondant-76-6502.htm
At $1.50 per oz, a little 2oz bottle will invert about 24 lbs of sugar at
room temp, so $0.06 per pound, not including shipping. If you buy a gallon
at a time, you can get your cost down to a nickle per pound.
But if you use the invertase, don't screw up by heating the mixture to speed
up the process, as you will, by heating, create an HMF level where there was
none before. Be patient. I've waited nearly a week to get some sugar to
turn into nice smooth centers for chocolates, so you can wait a few days for
your bees.
The subject line gave the impression that someone was feeding Spam as winter
bee feed, prompting the obligatory Monty Python sketch to replay in the back
of my head.
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