In a message dated 12/28/03 1:18:45 PM GMT Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> I
> understand that thymol can taint honey if used at the wrong time of year,
> and am also wondering how it is percieved by the authorities who classify
> food additives.
>

You have to be careful how you handle this issue with thymol users.

Thymol users generally cannot smell thymol at low levels and take serious
umbrage at any suggestion their crop is tainted. They do not think there is
anything wrong with their product, and indeed from their perspective that is so.

However, a person without regular exposure to thymol can spot it right away,
especially if it has been used in any quantity or at times close to, or
during, a honey flow .

I was recently in the honey extracting room of a beekeeper using thymol and
you could smell it right away, but he was quite upset when I asked if he was
using thymol as I could smell it. Only an hour or so later once he had calmed
down did he tell me he was using thymol for varroa. The whole room had a strong
smell both myself and my daughter noticed, and I suspect it was coming from
the wax more than the honey.

Old story, but a significant consignment of honey from Scotland was rejected
on the continent several years ago ( about 1992 or 3) because of the smell of
thymol when the drums were opened. The vendor was very upset and accused the
buyer of pulling a fast one and sold the honey after recall to a UK buyer I
know well. This buyer had to use it for blending over a protracted period because
the smell was so noticeable. I was shown the drums in his warehouse, and as
soon as you opened them the aroma hit you. Yet others could smell nothing
except good heather honey (which, the thymol apart, it was.

Anecdotal evidence for sure, but enough to make me very wary of thymol
potentially devaluing my harvest.

Murray

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