I would like to respond to Peter Edwards post about Thailand.   I am based in Thailand.  I am in the middle of the main honey producing area.  I keep bees.  I visit other bee keepers and the research facilities.   I would like to give a different interpretation of a number of the points.

"I have seen Chinese style beekeeping in Thailand."
Well that is interesting.  The style of bee keeping here was brought to Thailand in the 1950's by the Taiwanese immigrants.  I understand that they took their style from the Japanese before.  Most of the honey industry here is still controlled by families of Taiwanese descent and uses the same methods they brought with them 60 or so years ago.

"Honey collected weekly during the flow."
No.  Honey is collected every four days during the flow.

"Bees shaken out of brood box."
In 1% of hives this is true.  The bees then have to walk back in up a cloth / empty sugar sack.  The brood box is often changed at this time to repair or some other fundamental problem is resolved.   Normally the bees are shaken off and then brushed off the fames into the brood box.  The brood box is then covered with a damp cloth until the fames are returned.

"Larvae strained out of the 'honey' and strainer cleared when clogged with a large metal spoon.  Larvae dumped on ground."
What is written appears very dramatic.  Larvae are strained out.  So are dead bees, wings, leaves and any other particles.  The amount is extremely small.  A few larvae for a whole apiary, not material.  A large metal spoon ....  no ...  the spoon commonly used is a stainless spoon sold normally for eating soup with noodles, not much larger than the spoon you use for your cornflakes.  Yes, the strainer is cleared by dumping the contents on the ground, what else?   Extraction is normally done some distance away from the hives.

"'Honey' taken to processing factory where water content is reduced using a Chinese made machine."
Simply wrong.   Some bee keepers sell their honey to a processing factory.  There is only one.  The processing factory in some cases but not all cases need to reduce the water content a bit.  The reason is that their customers, typically the breakfast cereal manufacturers (or other food processors), have specified exactly what they want to be delivered.  You deliver what the customer wants or you do not get paid or at least that is the case here.  Most honey here is quite low in water content and needs no water removal at all.  Yes, the machinery in the factory is Chinese but it is from the Republic of China (Taiwan) and not the Peoples Republic of China (China). But who cares where it is made.  Most bee keepers prefer not to sell to the processing factory since they get a better price by either exporting directly or selling on the local market.  It depends on the state of the market, the location of the bee keeper relative to the factory and the amount of honey he has available.

"I would not want to eat it - would you?"
There is nothing wrong with it at all.   I use the local method at present.  I sell to a range of Americans and Brits who have been consuming honey all their lives and they come back time and time again until I am out of stock.  Wonder why?

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