I just finished up a development project n Romania in which we helped certify around 400 small (100-200 hive) beekeepers and get their processing operations in compliance with EU food safety requirements.  I won't bore you with all the gory details, but I can say there is a bit of a double standard in the realm of EU organic beekeeping.  The EU newbies are being held to the very letter of all the organic regulations, and they are tough.  One particular tour we took our Romanian clients on was to southern France to see organic beekeeping operations.  Frequently, while the Romanians were getting the long-winded introduction from the host (and translation) I would wander around the honey house or better yet take a look around behind the honey house to see what was really going on.  Let me just say that all that is 'organic' is not 'certified'.  I saw a lot of oil based paint in use, hive preservatives, non-certified wax, etc.  Was I surprised?  No.  Was all honey being run for residue analysis?  No.  Were the French following the 'spirit' of the organic certification?  Yes, but with some fudging.  What impressed me most was the intensity of French commercial agriculture, from the bottle green weed-free wheat fields to the heavily pruned, heavily fertilized home gardens.  Almost all the beekeepers we met told us that heavy ag and home pestidice use (and weed/honey plant eradication)was their number one problem.  The beekeepers I met were going organic to make a point with the rest of the ag community that maybe they were on the right, and sustainable track.

The Romanians were lucky.  They have reverted to a small-farm, mostly organic agriculture and most of the communist era heavy industry is dead, so they have a near-organic environment in which to keep bees.  They are getting about a 30% premium for their certified organic honey and it is passing all (German lab) residue tests.  Just some observations.

Bill Lord

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