Hi all:

This is a difficult subject.  In the strictest sense, there is probably NO
CONTAMINATE free honey anywhere in the  world.  Pesticides, pollution,
radioactive fallout from Chernobyl, etc. are found in the Arctic and
Antarctic - they've been distributed globally by winds, water, etc.

The Italians use honey as an environmental indicator of pesticides, metals,
etc.  My Croatian colleagues follow post-Chernobyl fallout in honeydew honey.

But, there is an IMPORTANT DISTINCTION to be made.  With modern analytical
instrumentation able to measure contaminants in the parts per trillion of
pico Curie range, a good lab will find trace residues in virtually any
beehive sample, whether it be the bees themselves, pollen, wax, or honey.
My rule of thumb, if the lab can't find any detectable levels - its not
doing a very good job.

Whether those concentrations represent any risk at all to people is a very
different question.  Considering that per capita consumption of honey in
most parts of the world is a few pounds per year at the most, simple math
says that human exposures are likely to be very low.

Can we harvest organic honey from remote areas?  How remote is remote?  In
eastern MT, some years ago, where one can go as far as 28 miles between
ranch houses, with virtually no heavy industry (this was before the power
plants), and no large cities or highways (gravel roads only), we found
industrial chemicals, pesticides, and radioactive materials (from Chinese
weapons testing) in the bee colonies -- at very low levels, but they were
there.  Our Croatian colleagues find evidence of Chernobyl in honeys from
high in the Alps.

From a practical viewpoint, no one managing bees in or near the urbanized
areas of our east or west coasts can "claim" to have organic honey.  If
nothing else, every hive has a wide array of volatile and semi-volatile
organic chemicals (traces of solvents like dry cleaning fluids and
degreasers, benzene/toulene/xylene from gasoline and diesel fuels) in the
air inside the box.  In Montana, we don't see the solvents, but we still
see the gasoline and diesel derived contaminants -- again at parts per
trillion levels, but there, nevertheless.

Now, factor in that you probably don't know what your neighbors are or have
used with respect to pesticides and other contaminants, that the bees can
easily forage out to 1 or more miles, that winds,rain, and other weather
conditions distribute, disperse, and re-distribute chemicals, and you can
never say for sure that your bees haven't contacted chemicals that could
show up in the honey.


So, I would have to argue that there is no such thing as truly organic
honey and that this is an unattainable goal - short of moving off-planet.
But, one can TAKE STEPS TO REDUCE THE CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION OF HONEY.
Obviously, not using chemicals in your hives or on your farm is step one.
If you do live in a remote area, you have at least a chance of making a
reasonable claim that your honey is as clean as it can be.  Urban areas,
its going to contain traces of chemicals from industries and vehicles.

So, how do you define ORGANIC.  Pristine or pure is unattainable.  Below
detectable analysis limits - may be able to pass, but expensive.  Best
available effort -- probably only criteria that can be applied.  Should we
call is organic or raw or something else?  I don't know.  When it comes
down to it, most "organic" vegetables suffer the same problems.  Soils
contaminanted from historical use, pollution, etc.  Is honey any more or
less organic than veggies?

I realize that my position will not be a popular one -- but with 30 years
of bee hive samples from all over the U.S. and other parts of the world,
that's what we've found.

Compared to most produce, honey looks good.  Is it pure or organic? Debatable.

Jerry