Hi Andy and Alden,
 
I've read your posts about cleaning pollen, etc.
I think both of you err since you don't make the
distinction between the hobby collector (like me)
and the commerical one.
 
Incidentally I freeze mine AFTER it's dried to
prevent wax-worm egg hatch out--it is ALWAYS
present. The dried pollen is sold in one-pound
queenline jars.
 
I don't have any problems w/ mold, vermin, etc.
I've been doing it sinc 1982 (1982).  I will
bee the first to admit that my method is labor-intensive!
 
Again, "suum cuique."  That's what makes the world go around.
 
 
On Mon, 9 Feb 1998, Andy Nachbaur wrote:
 
> At 12:35 AM 2/9/98 -0500, you wrote:
>
> ><see you are in the Northeast.  With our relatively high humidity, do you
> >dry the pollen?
>
> >        Yes indeed, I have a vented solar drier that works very well. It
> >will hold three 1.5' x 2.5' screen bottom trays. It takes about 1 sunny
> >day to dry the pollen to pass the pinch test (if pollen pellets pinched
> >together do not adhere dry enough), real scientific huh? Pollen keeps for
> >months in tightly sealed jars without molding. Pellets are not so dry
> >that a hard pinch can't crumble them.
>
> Hi Alden & Bee Friends,
>
> Maybe I don't believe bee pollen is God's gift of food to man but I do know
> from personal commercial experience producing pollen and working with
> others who had commercial interests in marketing pollen a tad about how it
> can be done commercially so that the pollen is acceptable to the bulk
> pollen buyer and the consuming public.
>
> First let me say that IMHO most who dry pollen are not selling a natural
> product as even the bees would have a hard time when its that hard and much
> of the food value for bees would be destroyed in just a few hours of sun or
> heating.  I agree that if you live in an area of high moisture you must
> take steps to preserve and protect the pollen from moisture most do this in
> the construction of the trap itself, but at the same time cooked pollen is
> like cooked honey and may have much local value to a large number of local
> producers but certainly would not have much food value left after cooking
> off those magic ingredients that are already in such minute quantizes in
> natural fresh frozen pollen that so many seek in promoting pollen for human
> consumption as an natural organic food supplement in the major marketing
> streams.
>
> > I clean my pollen whereas most who freeze instead of dry do not. I defy
> anyone who does not dry >pollen to do a descent job of cleaning in any
> reasonable period of time. Of course
> >there are arguments for and against both freezing and drying. The few I
> know in this area who trap >freeze it.
>
> Again lets not paint everyone with the same brush, I have never had to dry
> pollen and I have never known a commercial pollen producer who dried pollen
> but I only know a few of those in the southwest, Arizona, Colorado, and
> California and none had a moisture problem. The two pollen cleaning
> machines I used left little for the sorters to hand pick out. I have no
> idea what would cause anyone to believe that those who produce pollen in
> the dry southwest or the desert areas would have any interest in drying
> pollen or be less likely to do a good job cleaning their pollen before sale
> then any other beekeeper trying to do a good job in preparing his pollen
> for market, this just has not been my own experience working with other
> pollen producers.
>
> I only write this so that maybe others will figure out that there is more
> then one way to produce good high quality pollen. Fresh frozen pollen can
> be used in more ways then cooked or dried pollen which is important if you
> sell it in bulk and just maybe we should remember there are others doing
> the same good job we are doing using a different method but doing a equally
> good job. I even had an interest in a pill press and the pollen could not
> be as moisture free as dried pollen described above or it would not bind
> into a solid pill without adding a binder.
>
> ttul, the OLd Drone
>
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**John Iannuzzi, Ph.D.
**38 years in apiculture
**12 hives of Italian honeybees
**At Historic Ellicott City, Maryland, 21042, U.S.A. (10 miles west of
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