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Author Topic: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?  (Read 6847 times)

Online Michael Bush

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Re: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?
« Reply #20 on: December 22, 2015, 10:59:40 am »
When bees collect pollen it is no longer in individual grains of pollen.  It is in clumps of pollen stuck together.  True some pollen is stuck to their hair as individual grains.  Some gets filtered in their tongue and their honey stomach as individual grains, but not all of what is in honey is that small when it is filtered.  It is large enough that you can see it at the top of a jar of honey and it looks like individual specks of pollen.  Actual individual grains I think are almost too small to see...

>Read this among other things at  The National Honey Board website:

They also say things to reassure people about essential oils and corn syrup in the honey which are outright evasive.  They say that beekeepers do not add such things to their honey, but of course, ignore that they feed such things to their bees...

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Offline woodchopper

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Re: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?
« Reply #21 on: January 03, 2016, 08:09:27 pm »
Read this among other things at  The National Honey Board website:

Honey Nutrition Information

A collection of nutrition research articles, as well as a link to USDA?s nutrient database.

COMPARISON OF VITAMIN, MINERAL AND ANTIOXIDANT LEVELS IN RAW AND PROCESSED HONEY
Ropa Science Research

Research Project Funded by the National Honey Board ? D. Ropa, 2012

This 2012 study examined the effects of commercial processing on the pollen and nutrient content of honey.  Processing reduced the pollen content of the honey, but did not affect the nutrient content.  The micronutrient profile of honey is not associated with its pollen content and is not affected by commercial processing.

The 2012 study and abstract with statistical analysis was presented at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Conference in Boston April 20-24, 2013.

http://www.honey.com/honey-at-home/honey-nutrition-information/
The National Honey Board is made up with beekeepers who make their money pollinating and/or selling honey on a huge scale. If anyone had a reason to be biased it would be them because their livelihood depends on the outcome of the study THEY funded.
 If the nutrients in the honey are unaffected by heating and ultrafiltering according to this study what about the 200-300 beneficial enzymes that are supposedly also in honey ?  If honey's ability to crystallize is lessened by heating or partial pollen removal are we to believe ALL of the nutritional  benefits also remain unchanged because of one study that was funded by someone who has skin in the game ?
Something to think about.
 
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Offline KeyLargoBees

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Re: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?
« Reply #22 on: January 04, 2016, 09:00:49 am »
I don't know the science behind honey crystallization but I am wondering if it is like those experiments we did as a kid with supersaturated liquids.....perfectly clear with no solids but as soon as nucleation points are introduced they go from liquid to solid pretty quick. Unfiltered honey would have more microscopic debris in it that would act as nucleation points so it makes sense that it might tend to crystallize quicker. As far as heating goes....it will most definitely effect enzyme and other chemical substances by denaturing them.

The real reason people might prefer pasteurized honey is tied into the minuscule risk of botulism...and I do mean minuscule. According to the CDC 145 cases are reported yearly....of which 15% are food borne (~22). No break down on specific vectors of contamination but I would imagine improperly home canned foods or older canned goods would be the major portion of those 22 cases since botulism colony production needs anaerobic conditions to propagate. Raw Honey while a possible vector would statistically be a smaller portion but once again there is no way to provide accurate statistics....so once again the american public has most likely been bamboozled and all of those warnings about not feeding honey to infants under 1 yr are grossly overblown based on the numbers. I don't see those same warnings associated with canned goods or trumpeted to the high heavens with warnings about home canning and home processing of baby foods ;-P

http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/botulism/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/263668-the-dangers-and-benefits-of-raw-honey/
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Offline Acebird

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Re: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?
« Reply #23 on: January 04, 2016, 10:14:41 am »
You cannot filter out botulism.  You can radiate it to kill it.  Anyone two years old that does not have a compromised immune system will already be immune to the botulism found in honey that is everywhere in the environment.
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Online Michael Bush

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Re: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?
« Reply #24 on: January 04, 2016, 12:20:54 pm »
Bees don't carry and manipulate individual grains of pollen.  They collect it as fairly large conglomerations of pollen.  I doubt much of the pollen in honey is in individual grains.  The clumps of pollen that managed to get into the honey (which I suspect is the majority of the pollen in honey) will get filtered as will bits of propolis, wax, etc.
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Offline KeyLargoBees

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Re: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?
« Reply #25 on: January 04, 2016, 01:09:33 pm »
Where in my post did I say the filtration took out the botulism?....Botulism is poisoning from the byproducts of the organism...not the organism itself....you (adults) could eat a spoonful of the spores and they would pass through your gut with no harm done. Most common culprit for these poisonings is home canned products that aren't heated and held at a high temperature for long enough. Spores aren't killed off and  germinate...the critters flourish and their byproduct toxins build up and are then consumed which causes the poisoning.

Spores CAN exist in honey but cant germinate (PH is all wrong) and hence no toxins since the critters cant grow. Only risk (and this is shaky and based on incomplete science in my and many others opinions) is to extremely young children whose undeveloped gut allows the spores to lodge and reproduce and thus generate the toxins. Research on this isn't that in depth and most of the reported cases of botulism poisoning involving extremely young children cant be traced back to honey but hey why risk it....hence the warnings.

In any event my point was more about the nucleation points and honey crystallization anyway.



Jeff Wingate

Changes in Latitudes...Changes in Attitudes....are Florida Keys bees more laid back than the rest of the country...only time will tell!!!
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Offline superbee

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Re: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?
« Reply #26 on: January 05, 2016, 12:18:38 am »
Great Graphic.  I would like to share it but also respect the all rights reserved bit.  Is there a way I can do that?

Offline Foxhound

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Re: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?
« Reply #27 on: January 06, 2016, 11:59:43 pm »
Great Graphic.  I would like to share it but also respect the all rights reserved bit.  Is there a way I can do that?

Don't mind you sharing it at all. Send me your email address and i'll send you a full version of it. Adam@foxhoundbeecompany.com

Offline superbee

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Re: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?
« Reply #28 on: January 07, 2016, 01:30:17 am »
Perfect email sent

Offline flyboy

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Re: Does Filtering or Straining Honey Remove Pollen From Honey?
« Reply #29 on: January 07, 2016, 01:32:46 am »
Pasteurized honey is also considered mildly toxic in the Ayurvedic medical system from India. It does not cause acute conditions like botulism though. Just a range of issues with skin or stomach. I cannot eat pasteurized honey, makes me feel lousy, and generally I get a mild sore throat.

In the raw food world, feeding raw honey to infants under 1 year is considered bad juju. Makes sense. Whether the story about botulism is true or not true, why bother risking it. However after that time frame, honey is considered manna from heaven for children. Certainly one of the best sweeteners.

Just as a side note, when the CDC states that cases of death were caused by this or that, for the most part, these reports are based on the reports of others, like 'Aunt Jane who was just positive that her stupid daughter in law fed her son/grand-son something that she told her was poisonous'. In other words these reports are considered a bit suspect, possibly third hand, guesses, approximations, theories, prejudices. It's not like someone was there with a camera and a microscope.

In cases of large food distributers where the foods can be traced of course it is different.
Cheers
Al
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