By — Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/sweet-honey-guidelines-future-bees Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter How sweet it is: Honey guidelines and the future of bees Health Apr 8, 2014 2:23 PM EDT Honey sitting on American supermarket shelves might not be the real thing. On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration took steps to ensure that if it’s labeled “honey,” it actually is. Under drafted guidelines, food companies would not be allowed to add sugar or other sweeteners to pure honey and still call it “honey.” If a company does, it would have to call it a “blend of sugar and honey” or a “blend of honey and corn syrup.” The FDA warned enforcement of the policy is possible against both American businesses and importers. Honey imports are frequently tested for drug residue and unlabeled added sweeteners. A honey bee pollinates an apricot tree. Photo by Flickr user turnbud Meanwhile, a study by the European Union found honey bee death rates across Europe are lower than previously feared. The E.U. surveyed 32,000 bee colonies across 17 member countries from late 2012 until summer of 2013 and found winter mortality rates ranged anywhere from 3.5 percent to 33.6 percent. The highest rates were in northern Europe, where the 2012-2013 winter was particularly harsh. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin is an Emmy and Peabody award winning producer at the PBS NewsHour. In her two decades at the NewsHour, Baldwin has crisscrossed the US reporting on issues ranging from the water crisis in Flint, Michigan to tsunami preparedness in the Pacific Northwest to the politics of poverty on the campaign trail in North Carolina. Farther afield, Baldwin reported on the problem of sea turtle nest poaching in Costa Rica, the distinctive architecture of Rotterdam, the Netherlands and world renowned landscape artist, Piet Oudolf. @lornabaldwin
Honey sitting on American supermarket shelves might not be the real thing. On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration took steps to ensure that if it’s labeled “honey,” it actually is. Under drafted guidelines, food companies would not be allowed to add sugar or other sweeteners to pure honey and still call it “honey.” If a company does, it would have to call it a “blend of sugar and honey” or a “blend of honey and corn syrup.” The FDA warned enforcement of the policy is possible against both American businesses and importers. Honey imports are frequently tested for drug residue and unlabeled added sweeteners. A honey bee pollinates an apricot tree. Photo by Flickr user turnbud Meanwhile, a study by the European Union found honey bee death rates across Europe are lower than previously feared. The E.U. surveyed 32,000 bee colonies across 17 member countries from late 2012 until summer of 2013 and found winter mortality rates ranged anywhere from 3.5 percent to 33.6 percent. The highest rates were in northern Europe, where the 2012-2013 winter was particularly harsh. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now