Pardon the pun, but ‘raw’ and ‘organic’ are the buzz words on the lips of many a honey producer and consumer today. Attempting to eat well and making healthy choices can be confusing when trying to understand what is truly good for us, so let’s explore what they are and how they can benefit us.
What is raw honey?
Raw honey means it hasn’t been heated past the point of pasteurization. The temperature of honey within the hive is around 95’ Fahrenheit so raw honey retains its temperature and its nutritional qualities, the enzymes and the honey are active and alive. Honey that is classified as raw is not allowed to be pasteurized or processed. Texture wise, if you see honey that is cloudy, gritty or even lumpy then this type of raw honey has been carried from the hive pollen, honeycomb, beeswax and you might even see bits of bees. Don’t be put off as this is carrying even more of the benefits of the hive. Be wary of supermarket honeys carrying the label, ‘natural’ or ‘pure’, this doesn’t always mean it is raw. Commercial honeys sometimes have added sugar, water and flavourings.
What is organic honey?
Where raw honey is about the temperature and the texture, organic honey is about the flowers the bees collect their nectar from and knowing they are chemical free. Generally, beekeepers must ensure that the flowers within 3 to 5 miles of their hive are not sprayed in order to gain the organic label. The problem is that some bees might fly much further, so it’s difficult for beekeepers to guarantee that their honey is completely organic.
4 reasons you can’t guarantee your honey is organic
- Bees are furry, which is useful for pollen collection and also means their bodies readily gather all sorts of environmental particles. Any agrochemical applied anywhere within a colony's extensive reach can end up back in the hive.
- Beekeepers don't own the tens of thousands of acres surrounding their hives, they have no control over what their bees are bringing home.
- The hydrocarbon chains of beeswax retain certain pesticides, including those used by conventional beekeepers against the Varroa mite.
- Over time pesticide residues accumulate in the combs, so chemicals linger or build for years beyond the original applications. By itself this might not present a problem, except that beekeepers routinely buy and sell wax as starter comb. A recent survey of pesticides in commercially-available beeswax recorded 98% of samples contaminated with miticides.
(Source: Scientific American)
The challenges of sourcing organic honey
According to the UK newspaper, The Guardian, the bee population in the UK has experienced a sharp decline, partly because of the Varroa mite, the changing weather and the use of chemical pesticides. The European bee's foraging distance has been estimated as being up to 12km. So in order to get the organic seal a honey producer will have to prove that its bees have only foraged organically. In most places this is challenging or not even possible.
For honey to be certified organic, manufacturers have to meet a set of organic standards and conditions during the honey production (set by an organic agriculture certification body), which include source of the nectar, honey bees foraging area, bees management, honey extracting process, transportation, processing temperature, and packaging materials. Certification requirements vary from country to country, with some being less stringent than others. Dealing with different standards for organic honey from different sources can be confusing and one could question that some honeys that have been packaged and labelled as organic may not actually be the real deal. There also isn’t a specific rule that says organic honey can’t be pasteurized or processed so this means it might be organic but it could be devoid of all its nutrients and health qualities if it has been heated or treated.
Where to source raw honey
It seems to make more sense to me to retain the nutritional health benefits guaranteed with raw honey and buy honey sourced from ‘clean’ environments. That’s why I seek out remote locations and get to know my beekeepers and their practices, like the beekeeper co-operative I work with in the South of Yemen. They harvest the honey naturally bringing the purest form of honey, Raw Yemeni Sidr Do’ ani to the shelves of Balqees. The bees forage nectar from the Sidr trees that grow in the isolated mountains of the Wadi Do'an in the Hadramout region. The same goes for our Raw Catay Honey where the bee’s source pollen from Caa-tay flowers that grow in wetlands in the middle of the Parana River in Argentina. This is extremely rare honey and the beekeepers can only access the hives by boat at certain times of the year. There aren’t any pollutants to contaminate the flowers and the beekeepers take so much care and pride in their practices; respecting the bees is paramount in this naturally organic process.
Did you know it takes 12 bees a lifetime to produce a teaspoon of honey?
Friends of the Earth in the UK ask the consumer to consider the treatment of the bees and to ensure they come from healthy ecosystems. This means supporting beekeepers who raise their hives and follow best practices even if not completely organic. Natural beekeeping as advocated by naturalbeekeepingtrust.org puts the real producers first, the bees rather than the consumers. This resonates as I care a great deal about my customers and meeting their needs and demands but I also know best practice and happy bees makes for a better product. Bees are our pollinators so we need to protect them, this means reducing the use of chemicals and the over consumption that is leeching the hives leaving nothing for the bees, and to protect naturally from disease. Industrial scale beekeeping, whatever the type of honey, can do a lot of harm.
One thing for sure as consumers, do your own research and ask questions about your food and where it comes from. When it comes to raw versus organic ask yourself what is the healthiest option and always look to the source so you know it is coming from small beekeeper operations and avoid large corporations producing en masse.
So, what do you think? Let me know your thoughts and share your honey experience with me.
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375 thoughts on “Is raw honey the same as organic honey?”
single_vrEt
Been signed up at Single Bet Calculator for the best part of a year, usually on the train home, so make of that what you will. Stumbled on it through a Reddit thread, not an ad.
The lobby is frankly enormous — roughly 4,000 slots according to the filter counts. Play’n GO stuff dominates, so Book of Dead and the rest of the greatest hits all show up. Personally I mainly play Yggdrasil stuff since the maths feels fairer to me. Small annoyance — the search function on Single Bet Calculator is a bit rubbish, filters half work.
Live tables are powered by Evolution, which is fine by me. Real croupiers, no lag issues on my broadband, and Crazy Time and Lightning Roulette pulls a big crowd most evenings. Fair to note the UK side is well covered in the evenings. If you’re weighing up the promos it’s worth a look at single bet calculator rather than taking my word for it.
The sign-up deal from Single Bet Calculator came as 100% up to ?200 plus 100 free spins. Playthrough sits at 35x nothing special but not predatory. They also ran a small no deposit thing when I registered. Min deposit is ?10, the form was short enough, KYC took a day.
Cashouts have been the best part. Card payments land in a couple of days, Skrill hit in a few hours, and Bitcoin is quickest if you use it. Pulled ?180 out on Tuesday and it landed early. Single Bet Calculator’s support was on me within five minutes — copy-paste at first but fine after. Properly licensed for UK players, so at least there’s a complaints route. App-wise there’s nothing, which is mildly annoying but the site works fine.
fiery_wzkl
Gram tu od jakichs trzech miesiecy, no to cos tam juz wiem. Podrzucil mi to kumpel z innego forum, bo znudzilo mi sie bez wiecznych problemow z wyplatami. Gier jest tam od groma — w okolicach 3500 automatow, choc polowy z tego nigdy nie odpale. Pragmatic Play, Play’n GO i NetEnt sa tam najmocniej reprezentowane, sa oczywiscie Gates of Olympus, Sweet Bonanza czy Book of Dead.
Bonus powitalny w Fiery Play to 100% do pierwszego depozytu do 1500 zl plus 150 darmowych spinow, wydawanych po kilka dni. Warunek obrotu to x40, co uwazam za standardowo, nic rewelacyjnego, choc warto przeczytac warunki — max bet w trakcie odgrywania jest sztywno ustawiony i latwo sie na tym przejechac. Widzialem tez kod bez depozytu na 60 darmowych obrotow, ale nie wiem czy dalej dziala. Aktualne promki mozecie sprawdzic na fiery play pl zanim sie zarejestrujecie.
Rejestracja zajela mi jakies dwie minuty, minimalna wplata zaczyna sie od 40 zl. Wplacam BLIKiem albo karta, wyjscia z kasa mialem chyba cztery — zwykle w granicach doby, ale raz meczylem sie dwa dni, bo kazali doslac dowod. Bitcoin tez obsluguja i podobno tam idzie najszybciej.
Najwiecej czasu spedzam w dziale live — to Evolution stoi za stolami, na kilku stolach sa nasi krupierzy, czego sie nie spodziewalem. Crazy Time leci non stop, ale to loteria, nie strategia. Blackjack i bakarat maja przyzwoity wybor.
Gram glownie z komorki, przegladarkowo smiga calkiem niezle, tyle ze na wolniejszym necie obraz potrafi sie zaciac. Maja papiery z Curacao, co nie jest MGA, wiadomo — ale wyplacili, wiec nie narzekam. Czat na Fiery Play dziala po polsku choc pierwsze dwie odpowiedzi to bot. Najbardziej denerwuje mnie zalew maili z promkami — ale da sie to wylaczyc.
fieryplay_ygKa
Klikam tu od jakichs cztery miesiace, wiec moge juz cos sensownego napisac. Wpadlem przypadkiem, szukajac czegos bez tysiaca klonow tego samego slota. Na start rzuca sie w oczy, ze slotow jest duzo — gdzies 3000 pozycji, glownie Pragmatic Play, Play’n GO, NetEnt i troche Yggdrasil. Standardy typu Gates of Olympus, Sweet Bonanza czy Book of Dead siedza tam, choc nie ukrywam najwiecej czasu spedzam na Reactoonz.
Pakiet powitalny na Fiery Play Kod Promocyjny to: 100% do 2000 zl plus 100 free spinow, rozbite na kilka pierwszych wplat. Wager wynosi 35x, czyli standardem, ale warto przeczytac warunki — jest tam max bet 6 zl przy odgrywaniu i paru ludzi sie o to potknelo. Kod wbijalem przy rejestracji, bo potem juz go nie doklepiesz.
Jesli ktos szuka sprawdzic aktualne kody, najprosciej zerknac do opis krok po kroku przed rejestracja, bo to sie kreci dosc szybko. Widzialem tez darmowe spiny bez wplaty, ale bywaja czasowe.
Live jest ogarniete — ruletki po polsku sa w prime time, do tego Crazy Time, Lightning Roulette i ten caly Monopoly Live. Limity sa od 2 zl, wiec mozna pograc bez wielkiego banku. To co mnie denerwuje ze w weekendy ladowanie stolu potrafi trwac na mobilnym LTE.
Wyplaty z Fiery Play Kod Promocyjny wychodza calkiem sprawnie: Neteller i portfele w kilka godzin, karta juz 2-3 dni robocze, krypto najszybciej. Minimalny depozyt to 50 zl, zakladanie konta to doslownie minute, za to weryfikacja przed pierwszym cashoutem trwala prawie dwa dni — skan dowodu plus rachunek za prad. Licencja curacaowska, wiec standard w tym segmencie, ale kasa przyszla bez cyrkow.
Support na Fiery Play Kod Promocyjny gada po polsku na czacie, odpowiedz w jakies kilka minut, bez kopiuj-wklej. Dedykowanej apki nie ma, jednak strona mobilna dziala dobrze na Androidzie. Nie jest to ideal, ale siedze dalej i jak na razie nie mialem realnych problemow z kasa.
crazy_fxor
Gioco su sti giochi da inizio anno e diciamocelo la ruota mi ha portato piu momenti buoni di quello che credevo. Non sono certo uno che sbrocca con le puntate, normalmente piazzo un paio di euro a spin e amen. Il lobby di Crazy Time e parecchio ricco: fra le 1800 circa macchinette mettendo dentro Pragmatic, Yggdrasil e NetEnt, per cui i classiconi del calibro di Book of Dead e Gates of Olympus ci sono tutti.
La parte live gira su Evolution e la differenza si sente. Dealer in carne e ossa, con qualche tavolo italiano in certe fasce orarie, e i vari game show restano quelli dove passo il grosso delle sessioni. Ogni tanto controllo le statistiche dei bonus round prima di sedermi, non che serva davvero, eh.
L’offerta di benvenuto su Crazy Time in questo periodo sta sul 150% fino a 400€ piu anche 100 giri gratis, distribuiti su piu giorni. Ti danno anche un piccolo no deposit dopo la verifica dei documenti. Il requisito di puntata e 35x, che non e regalato, meglio leggersi il regolamento: si trovano le condizioni complete direttamente su Crazy Time prima di metterci soldi.
Sui prelievi ho poco da dire. Sono andato di Neteller e i soldi arrivano entro le 24 ore, con la carta ci mette 2-3 giorni. C’e anche Bitcoin, anche se io resto sui bonifici classici. Si parte da 20€, registrazione rapida. La cosa che mi ha dato fastidio e stato il KYC: mi hanno rifiutato la bolletta due volte per un motivo assurdo.
Il supporto su Crazy Time ti risponde in italiano ed e gia qualcosa, anche se dopo mezzanotte ci vuole pazienza. Su mobile gira liscio dal browser, l’applicazione c’e per Android va, ma preferisco il sito. Licenza c’e quella maltese MGA, niente ADM, e questo per qualcuno e un punto a sfavore. Io intanto vado avanti, senza troppe pretese.
888starz_qpPn
Siedze na tej stronie juz jakies pol roku, glownie sloty, wiec napisze pare slow. W 888starz katalog gier jest spory — grubo ponad 3000 automatow, z tym ze czesc to praktycznie te same gry w innych skorkach. NetEnt ciagnie wiekszosc — Sweet Bonanza i Gates of Olympus chodza non stop, ale mam tez slabosc do Book of Dead. Jest tez Yggdrasil i Big Time Gaming dla lubiacych mocniejsza wariancje.
Sekcja live jedzie na Evolution, wiec wiadomo czego sie spodziewac. Prawdziwi krupierzy, sa nawet polskojezyczne stoly, te wszystkie teleturnieje typu Crazy Time w weekendy pekaja w szwach. Minus — stream lubi przyciac przy gorszym wifi, choc podejrzewam ze to bardziej moj router.
Powitalny pakiet w 888starz to podwojenie wplaty do mniej wiecej 1500 zl + 150 spinow, rozbite na kilka depozytow. Obrot x35 co jest w miare uczciwe, ale bez cudow. Byl tez maly bonus bez depozytu za sama rejestracje, ale to bardziej ciekawostka niz realna kasa. Swieze promocje sa opisane pod 888starz jak ktos chce porownac. Minimalny depozyt w okolicach 20-25 zl, zapis trwa moze dwie minuty, tylko KYC lepiej ogarnac od razu.
Wyplaty sa ok, bez dramatow. Skrill i Neteller zwykle tego samego wieczora, Visa/Mastercard wolniej, do trzech dni. Bitcoin schodzi najszybciej — ostatnio wyplacalem w USDT i bylo po 20 minutach. Obsluga 888starz gada po polsku, czat na zywo, srednio kilka minut czekania, choc raz trafilem na kogos kto ewidentnie kopiowal gotowce.
Na telefonie gram najczesciej — strona mobilna dziala plynnie, ale jest tez 888starz apk do pobrania. Wzialem apke na 888starz android bo szybciej sie odpala, nie zawiesza sie. Jedna uwaga — po sieci krazy cos w stylu 888starz apk mod, omijajcie szerokim lukiem, bierzcie plik wylacznie ze strony operatora. Kasyno ma licencje Curacao — wiadomo, nie polska, to juz kwestia indywidualna.