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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Bob & Liz <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 10 Feb 2002 09:34:33 -0600
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-----Original Message-----
From:   Rick Green [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Saturday, February 09, 2002 8:00 PM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: Closing of bee labs.

Hello Rick and All,
Rick wrote:
 I was eventually dropped not because the consumers didn't buy but because the supermarket could maximize their profits by dumping me.  It sold because people wanted a convient source of local honey and would pay more for it.  
Your situation seems different than the chains in our area. The chains have a standard mark up based on the price they pay wholesale.   My daughter is a buyer for a large distributer and has explained the process to me many times and I will try to explain to you. The supermarket expects to make a certain amount of money from every foot of shelf space. When sales drop below a certain store set level then your space is cancelled and a product  which will make the profitability standards of the store take its place. Let me assure you many times honey is replaced with another product. I have seen honey shelf space shrink in some chain stores to about five feet of shelf space and only sizes which can be profitable to the store. Small hometown and private  grocery stores are easier to deal with and usually  do not monitor honey sales. 
Now for the big kicker which will cause quite a commotion.  Just because the label says the producer is in the area  DOES NOT mean the honey  is local.     Many  sideliners  buy honey from other states ECT.   I would also quess that 50% of sideliners pasteurize and ppressure filter their honey to make a crystal clear product aaand give shelf space if you are running a route of say a 100 stores.  Honey with quite a bit of pollen in it crystalizes faster than honey with the pollen filtered out like many big packers do.  The value of honey as seen by health food store owners and  the way large packers see honey are to different approches. Why does not the USDA make honey producers clearly print on the label the origin of the honey ( not a general statement which includes the U.S. as a country AND  also   the way the honey is processed such as .
Pasteurized
Pressure filtered
Only strained
Raw honey
Most consumers in surveys report selecting  honey on the store shelf because of cost and taste based on past buying. One reason why large packers blend  honey is so their product always taste the same or very similar. One off flavor jar and the consumer selects another brand on the next trip to the store..
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Ps. Large honey packers have got the money to fight the above and will fight any movement to make their store shelf honey seem inferior to local raw honey. The NHB will NEVER have the clout of the large packers.

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