THIS IS THE SEPTEMBER 1993 ISSUE OF 'BUZZWORDS', THE MONTHLY
NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION. IF I CAN
HELP WITH ANY MATTERS ASSOCIATED WITH IT, DO NOT HESITATE TO
CONTACT ME.
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Nick Wallingford
Tauranga, NZ
(East coast, N Island, New Zealand)
Internet [log in to unmask]
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FROM THE PRESIDENT
This is my first communication to you all since becoming
president of your association and I would like to begin by
thanking all those who have offered their assistance since I have
taken up this new role. One of the great strengths of our
industry is the willingness of members to get involved at branch
level, in special interest groups such as the Exporters'
Association, and on industry committees such as the Disease
Control Committee and the Marketing Committee.
There are a number of major tasks ahead for the new executive.
These include 1) using the Commodity Levies Act to secure
continued funding for our activities, 2) developing Pest
Management Strategies under the new Biosecurity Act so that we
can continue the Disease Control Programme, especially in light
of the passing of remits showing industry support for the goal of
eradication of AFB, and 3) maintaining the Honey Marketing
Committee's programme, and especially implementing the new Honey
Industry Marketing Plan.
Executive Officer Ted Roberts and I attended a meeting of
Parliament's Primary Production Committee in Wellington on August
11 to present our submission on the Commodity Levies Amendment
Bill. Many other primary production groups were also
represented. They are in a similar situation to us in that they
need a Commodity Levies Act which is workable if they are to
continue to provide services to their industries.
On August 5, executive members Richard Bensemann and Mervyn
Cloake attended a practice headquarters exercise run by MAF as
part of their training for a honey bee exotic pest and disease
emergency response (EDPR). From the feedback it would appear
that both MAF and our executive members benefitted from the
session. Richard and Mervyn were impressed with the efficient
way the headquarters was organised. They were also able to
contribute some practical suggestions to the participants.
It's good to hear that so many branches have begun to organise
their part of the '93-'94 disease control programme. Hawkes Bay,
Bay of Plenty, Southern North Island, Nelson, Marlborough,
Canterbury and Otago branches have all set dates for
diseaseathons.
The executive held a telephone conference call to discuss the
'93-'94 AFB Disease Control Programme on August 18. An advisory
group to the executive, consisting of Richard Bensemann, Russell
Berry, Terry Gavin and Alan McCaw from the Disease Control
Committee, with assistance from Cliff Van Eaton (MAF) and Dr.
Mark Goodwin (HortResearch) held a further conference call on
August 31. This advisory group will recommend to executive, at
its meeting on September 7-8, the form the disease control
programme should take for this season.
At our meeting following conference the executive met with Terry
Gavin and Malcom Haines from the Northland branch. The executive
gave its approval for the Far North branch to come out of recess.
Members of the Northland branch felt northern members would be
better served with a separate branch. Travel times and distances
make it difficult for Far North members to attend Northland
branch activities, which are centred around Whangarei. We wish
the Far North branch all the best. Frances Trewby, President
OZ HONEY QUALITY CODE
The Australian beekeeping industry recently announced that it has
developed the world's first code of practice for assuring honey
quality. The code is a joint venture between the Australian
Honey Bureau and the Honey Bee Research and Development Council
(HBRDC).
Australian honey packers are providing a manual outlining the
code of practice to their beekeeper suppliers. Approximately
1000 Australian honey producers are expected to receive copies.
As well, a video explaining the concept of quality assurance will
be made available to all state and regional beekeeper
associations.
According to John McKay, marketing manager of the Australian
Horticultural Corporation, the Australian beekeeping industry
took the initiative to develop this code of practice to 'ensure
that Australian honeys satisfy the most stringent domestic and
international standards'. The industry aims to both safeguard
existing markets and ensure that producers are in a position to
expands sales into the commercial food and beverage processing
markets.
Mr. McKay believes that the Australian honey industry is more
disciplined and integrated than its international competitors and
is therefore better placed to satisfy ISO 9002 quality
requirements. The code of practice is designed to ensure that
all packers meet these internationally important quality
standards. A number of major Australian honey packing and
marketing organisations are already committed to satisfying ISO
standards. The code of practice is likely to be fully
implemented by the end of 1994.
The code of practice manual was produced in cooperation with the
Victorian Department of Agriculture's Quality Management Unit.
The manual sets forth guidelines for the maintenance of quality
during all stages of production, packaging and marketing. It
focuses on areas where beekeepers can have a major influence on
final honey quality and colour.
Bee Briefs, NSW Dept of Agriculture, May 1993
MANUKA BY THE CAPSULE
A Gisborne company has started cashing in on the antibiotic
properties of manuka honey, publicised by Dr. Peter Molan of
Waikato University, by selling the honey in gelatine health
capsules.
Gisborne Honey Producers has just won its first domestic order
for 100,000 capsules. Managing partner Brian Smith believes the
product is a world first. His company is set to supply 1.8
million capsules from raw material worth $1.2 million. Samples
of the capsules, labelled as 'nature's own antibiotic', are also
going to Asian distributors and an American marketing network.
According to Mr. Smith, work on research and development of the
product began about five years ago. The company has spent an
estimated $50,000 on the project. Mr. Smith originally went into
beekeeping to supply hives for kiwifruit pollination, but came up
with the capsule concept when investigating diversification
options.
Samples of honey used in the capsules are tested by the Cawthorn
Institute in Nelson to a trademarked Pharm Qual standard. The
honey is tested against a range of bacteria included MRSA,
Staphylococcus aureus, and E. coli.
New Zealand Press Association
FROM THE BRANCHES
The next meeting of the Auckland branch is scheduled for
Thursday, September 23, at the Anglican Church Hall, Papakura.
Discussion topic for the meeting will be 'alternative returns
from beekeeping'.
The next meeting of the Hawkes Bay branch will be on Monday,
September 13, at the Cruse Club rooms, Lee Road, Taradale.
During their last meeting the branch discussed the pros and cons
of various types of both pollen traps and feeders. They also
opened up their nine branch hives last month. The hives are both
a good learning tool for new members and a source of extra income
for the branch.
NORTH AMERICAN NOTES
During my recent holiday in Canada, I was able to attend the
annual Western Apicultural Society (WAS) conference, held at
Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. There were a number of
interesting speakers at the conference, as well as some good
discussions during the various social activities. Here's a brief
run-down of some of the highlights -
Canadian Border Re-opening - as was reported in Buzzwords 54,
there is a strong possibility that the Canadian border with the
US may re-open, allowing renewed shipments of queens and packages
from the US. The move could have drastic consequences for New
Zealand producers since our freight costs are so much higher. It
turns out that almost everyone in Canada is against the move,
including all the provincial ministers of agriculture, all the
provincial beekeeping associations, the Canadian Honey Council,
and the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturalists.
Still, that doesn't seem to have stopped the Federal Minister of
Agriculture, who seems hell-bent on going ahead with the move
regardless. Several people I spoke to said that the situation
was not just bad for Canadian beekeeping; it also showed how
politicians who are elected to serve their constituents can
sometimes usurp the democratic process. A meeting on the issue
is set to take place in Edmonton during the first week of
September. Sources believe that a final decision will be made at
that meeting.
Queen Mandibular Pheromone - Researchers Keith Slessor and Mark
Winston from Simon Fraser isolated this pheromone and were able
to synthesize it for commercial use. The pheromone is now
produced by Phero Tech, a company in British Columbia, and is
marketed as a pollination attractant (trade name: Fruit Boost).
Fruit Boost has proven very successful on pears and cranberries
and the company would like to carry out trials on kiwifruit.
Interestingly, the researchers have found that the amount of
pheromone (expressed in queen equivalents/ha!) is critical to
pollination success. Too much pheromone can reduce pollination
as much as too little, while the right amount can double the
number of bees visiting the flowers. They have also found that
the bees spend more time out of the hive per visit when the
pheromone is applied correctly. What they haven't figured out
yet, though, is why the pheromone works at all, since queen
mandibular pheromone isn't usually associated with floral marking
by honey bees. It's normally only found inside the hive.
Changes in Canadian Beekeeping - According to Don Dixon,
Provincial Apiarist for Manitoba, the reduction in honey prices
in the mid-'80's caused by changes in the US subsidy programme
had a greater affect on Canadian beekeeping than the border
closure for queens and packages. Colony over-wintering was
already accelerating in Manitoba before the border closure and
the number of package bees brought into the province was
declining. But the biggest reason hive numbers decreased
dramatically in Canada in the late 80's was the fact that honey
prices went from CDN 90 cents/lb to less than 40 cents/lb. The
good news, though, is that 1993 is the first year that colony
numbers have increased in Canada since 1986. Currently,
according to Don, the break-even point for prairie honey
producers at CDN 60 cents/lb is 150 lb (68 kg) per hive.
Fortunately, the average production is 200 lb (91 kg) per hive!
Varroa Mites - These mites are having a profound effect on US
beekeeping, with one beekeeper at the conference reporting a
reduction in his hive numbers over one year from 2000 to 800
colonies. However, according to Eric Mussen, Extension
Apiculturist in California, colony reductions aren't showing up
in the statistics because of the migratory nature of beekeeping
there and beekeepers' ability to replace hive numbers by making
early splits. Feral colonies aren't so lucky, though, and a
California researcher has found that the mite is destroying most
such colonies. Beekeepers are also finding that one chemical
treatment per year isn't enough to control the mites, since the
mites seem to spread quite quickly from hive to hive. The
varroa mite has also been found along the US-Canada border in
both Manitoba and British Columbia and is now regarded as being
firmly established in the lower mainland area around Vancouver.
Cliff Van Eaton
FROM THE MARKETING COMMITTEE
The NZ Honey Quality Standards - In last month's Buzzwords I
explained how the Marketing Committee was first and foremost
concerned with 'quality' issues. All the proposed marketing
strategies have to evolve from, and be based on, the central
theme of 'quality'.
Sue Jenkins and I have started working on the first draft of what
will become known as the NZ Honey Quality Standards (NZHQS). In
carrying out the work I must say that I'm quite impressed,
firstly, by Sue's knowledge, and just as importantly, by how
complex the whole issue of beekeeping husbandry and honey
production really is. You certainly realise this the moment you
try to come up with a national quality standard.
The Marketing Plan - Copies of the marketing plan are being sent
to all branch secretaries during the first week of September.
You'll note that some of the work is now dated and that we have
already deferred some actions to stay within budget. However,
the overriding strategies are all valid and we look forward to
your feedback on the programme.
Watch Out Or Your Labels Will Cost You Double - Despite
everything you've been told or believe about honey yourself, the
law is very clear on what can and cannot be said on food labels.
Don't get carried away and make exciting and provocative claims
about honey (especially its newly discovered anti-bacterial
properties).
I believe it, you believe it, but your local Health Protection
Officer isn't allowed to (yet) and he or she has to be very firm
on any food packaging/labelling that makes nutritional or
therapeutic claims. If you refer to antibacterial activity in
honey, you can run afoul of the law.
We are aware of two packers who have been given 6 months to
reprint their labels and stop making such claims. The Health
Protection Officer concerned has also written to officers in all
other regions warning them of possible honey label transgressions
in their areas.
The Marketing Committee's advice is as follows:
- You can't win against the Health Department; and we should be
pleased the Health Protection Officers are doing their jobs.
They stop any 'honey hoons' from going silly with 'over-the-top'
(or is that 'off-the-hive') claims that make us all look like the
lunatic fringe.
- Discuss with your local Health Protection Officer what you
intend to put on your label. New labelling regulations come into
force on 1 January 1995 and you will be surprised at what you
won't be able to say on your product label.
- Make sure any information you get from the committee, or from
your own network, about the food and therapeutic values of honey
is publicised by your local media. This can be more effective
and more credible than putting something on your own packaging.
A NZ Honey Showcase - the Marketing Committee wants to build up a
showcase of the different types of NZ honey and honey-based
products, together with any promotional material beekeepers may
have done. We can't make any guarantees, but these products may
get some further publicity during the next twelve months.
If you want to participate, please send samples to NZ Honey
Marketing Group, c/- Floyd Marketing, 4A Scott Street, PO Box 32,
Blenheim.
Sorry we can't afford to pay you for your items, but hopefully a
showcase which includes your products will compensate for the
expense.
Peter Bray Goes Nationwide - Nick Wallingford was responsible for
getting Peter Bray on Kim Hill's National Programme morning slot
last month. It was a great interview that did us all proud.
Thanks, Peter and Nick!
Bill Floyd, Honey Marketing Committee
BEE BRAINS AND HUMAN LEARNING
Can honey bees help scientists understand how adult humans learn?
Researchers at the University of Illinois are convinced they can.
In the July 15 issue of the journal Nature, insect biologists
Susan E. Fahrbach and Gene E. Robinson describe structural
changes that occur in the brains of bees when the insects leave
their domestic chores to tackle their most challenging and
complex task - foraging for pollen and nectar. They believe that
such changes also occur in human brains.
The article describes the work of neuroscience graduate student
G.S. Withers, which focused on the 'mushroom bodies', a region of
the bee brain so named because it appears mushroom-shaped when
viewed in cross-section. The region is closely associated with
learning and memory.
Withers's study of bee brain sections showed that the mushroom
bodies are re-organised when a bee becomes a forager. She was
also able to show that this was not simply due to aging of the
bee. In a key experiment, young honey bees were forced to become
foragers by removing older bees from the colony. The mushroom
bodies of these young foragers, who were only about one week old,
mirrored those of normal-aged foragers.
The findings suggest that nerve cells in the mushroom bodies
receive more informational inputs per cell as the bee learns to
forage. In order to be a successful forager, a bee must learn
how to navigate to and from its hive and how to collect food
efficiently from many types of flowers.
According to the article's authors, the implications for
neuroscience go far beyond the beehive. There could also be an
application to human studies because the structure of bee brains
is similar to - but much simpler than - human brains. The
authors believe the discovery opens up a new area of research on
the relationship between brain and behaviour. One fundamental
question this research raises is 'which comes first?' Do changes
in behaviour lead to changes in brain structure? Or do the
changes in brain structure occur first, in preparation for the
changes in behaviour? BeeNet
COMVITA AT EXPO
Comvita NZ Ltd has been chosen, along with Canterbury
International and Ariki New Zealand, as retailers in the New
Zealand pavilion at the Asian Expo '93 in Taejon, South Korea.
The Expo runs for three months, from August 7 to November 7, and
is expected to attract more than 10 million visitors from both
Korea and Japan. New Zealand is participating at the Expo along
with 112 other countries.
Korea is a huge and fast-growing market for New Zealand and this
year is likely to nudge out Great Britain as our fourth biggest
export market. Mike Pattison, Expo '93 Commissioner General for
New Zealand, says the New Zealand presence at Expo will help
consolidate this relationship at a time when the Korean
government is lowering import barriers and Koreans are
discovering New Zealand as a tourist destination.
Comvita will be in the retail area of the 828m2 New Zealand
pavilion and will have on sale its range of royal jelly,
propolis, and honey products. The pavilion features static and
audio-visual displays of New Zealand's peoples and cultures, art,
primary industry, technology, and tourist attractions. The
ground floor is designed as a walkway which takes visitors
through a cave entrance and culminates in a landscaped area
featuring a waterfall and live New Zealand vegetation.
Export News, August 9, 1993
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