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Date: | Sat, 8 Apr 2023 20:22:29 -0400 |
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Bob; This may not help you, and you may find it very frustrating in light
of our NOP rules, but it is possible to produce certified organic honey in
Eastern Europe. This may help you understand your competition. I have
been involved in a beekeeping development project in Moldova for the past 5
years and I pushed to get organic honey production started as a means of
demonstrating that bees could be successfully managed without synthetic
chemicals. (I was involved in a similar project in Romania 15 years ago
where we introduced certified organic honey production). .In Moldova we
had a big problem with illegal residues in honey, due in part to beekeeper
misuse but also from outside contamination (things like chicken waterers).
Early-on we had problems locating certified organic wax for foundation and
Moldova was being combined with some other countries that had serious
residue problems for purposes of certification.
I met with the CERES organic certification people in Chisnau in February
and most of the problems have been resolved. Organic wax is readily
available and beekeepers are getting better at locating organic honey
production yards at least 3 km away from commercial agriculture. Honey
processors are now required to process organic honey in separate areas of
their processing facilities, and we have successfully demonstrated that
bees can be kept free of synthetic drugs and chemicals. Beekeepers are
getting a 30% price premium for certified organic honey, and all of the
honey is tested for residues, so there is a feed-back loop. The
agricultural development project was just renewed for 5 years and it will
have a beekeeping component. I am going to continue to push expansion of
organic honey production and the project will subsidize certification fees
for beginning organic producers to encourage them to make the transition.
I am happy to report that illegal residues in conventional honey have just
about disappeared in part because of a rigorous testing program combined
with traceability programs introduced by processors. There is now
accountability and the beekeepers are learning the proper way to treat bees.
Bill Lord
Louisburg, NC
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