I just returned from Biofach - a large organic (bio) food fair - in
Nuremberg Germany where I was working with some Eastern European honey
processors and producers to sell certified organic honey.  We met with one
large Dutch bio honey producer and processor and his literature stated they
had been bio (organic) since 1988.  I asked him how he survived the Varroa
invasion.  His answer:  we discovered oxalic acid right away.

One of the first things the organic honey buyers want to see is a full
panel analysis of your honey - by one of the German labs.  They have very
strict parameters.  At all of our beekeeper training sessions I ask
people:  Why do people buy (and pay more for) honey?  Because they expect
it to be a pure, natural product.

Very interesting that it is possible to produce organic honey in much of
Europe - think about the ag situation in Holland for instance.  A very
different certification process than that which we operate under.

food for thought........

Bill Lord
Louisburg, NC

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