Pasteurized, Unpasteurized, Not Pasteurized, Natural, or Raw?
 
What's the difference?
 
 
 
Raw Honey:  Many people prefer completely unpasteurized,  raw honey -- often for allergy or medicinal reasons.
Raw honey is honey that has never been exposed to heat above the normal 95 degree Fahrenheit internal temperature of a beehive.  Due to the confusing terms and rules employed in honey labelling, people very often do not get what they think they are buyin
g.
 
Pasteurized Honey: Why Pasteurize Honey anyhow?  Commercial honey packing plants pasteurize honey to enhance its appearance for the mass market. It has everything to do with marketing and store shelf life, and little, if anything , to do with human healt
h.
Fine filtering using high heats and  a diatomaceous earth filter removes specks of natural beeswax, small crystals, and pollen grains that are normally found in natural honey.  Removing them allows the product to stay liquid and sparkling clear on store
shelves for years.  Without heating the honey, it is impossible to remove all these specks.
 
In the process of heating honey to go through the filter, pasteurization occurs and any yeasts which might cause spoilage in high moisture honey are killed. Honey labelled "Pasteurized" is therefore permitted under law to have about one percent more mois
ture (18.6%) than unpasteurized honey (17.8%), and is therefore usually thinner. Store brands of  honey will usually be exactly at the 18.6% limit.
 
Low moisture unprocessed honey will not spoil. (As a matter of interest, when honey spoils it first becomes alcohol and then vinegar, so spoilage is not hazardous).
 
Our honey varies naturally from 16% to 17% and is therefore thicker than most store brands and will not spoil.  We guarantee that.  No time limit.
Health Issues? There are, however, valid reasons not to pasteurize, since honey contains minority constituents that seem beneficial and are apparently sensitive to heat.
Since bees and humans do not share any known diseases, there is no valid health reason to sterilize honey that has been safely handled and not exposed to obvious human or animal contamination.
Honey is not a good medium for bacterial growth.  Instead honey kills bacteria quickly and, in fact, is a good wound dressing.
 
Unpasteurized or Not Pasteurized -- the Legal Perspective: In Canada, only special federally licensed pasteurizing plants may legally  label their honey "Pasteurized'', but they can legally label the same honey  "Unpasteurized" or "Not Pasteurized" if th
ey think it will sell better. In fact, they are not required to mention  pasteurization on the label at all.
On the other hand, other packers, or beekeepers, may not legally feature the word "Pasteurized'' on a label even if they  were to heat honey to very high temperatures.  Many  beekeepers use considerable heat on their "Raw", "Unpasteurized" honey since mu
ch of the commercial equipment sold for honey extracting is designed to use heat well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
 
Our natural honey is completely raw.  So is our wildflower honey.  Our buckwheat honey may not be entirely raw. Our honey -- just as it comes from the beehives -- is well below the 17.5% moisture threshold for spoilage.  Moreover, for your assurance, we
are federally inspected for food safety and offer a full moneyback guarantee.
 
Allen & Ellen Dick, Beekeepers
Rural Route One , Swalwell, Alberta  T0M 1Y0
Telephone & Fax: 1-403-546-2588
8AM to 9PM Mountain Time
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