The International and Multi-Regional Membership Center of Latinos in the USA

Welcome to you all!

Beware Of The Labels When Buying Honey

PuraVidaCommunity

Honey is a sugary food substance produced and stored by certain social hymenopterans insects. It is produced from the sugary secretions of plants or insects, such as floral nectar or aphid honeydew, through regurgitation, enzymatic activity, and water evaporation. The variety of honey produced by honey bees (the genus Apis) is the most well-known, due to its worldwide commercial production and human consumption. Honey it is a blend of sugar, trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. It is quite unlike any other sweetener on the planet. And while honey is high in fructose, it has many health benefits when used in moderation (assuming you're healthy). Ten Benefits of Honey 1. Helps prevent cancer and heart disease: Honey contains flavonoids, antioxidants which help reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease. 2. Reduces ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders: Recent research shows that honey treatment may help disorders such as ulcers and bacterial gastroenteritis. This may be related to the 3rd benefit. 3. Anti-bacterial and anti-fungal: “All honey is antibacterial, because the bees add an enzyme that makes hydrogen peroxide, (H2O2)” said Peter Molan, director of the Honey Research Unit at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. This contributes to the incredibly long shelf-life of honey. 4. Increases athletic performance: Ancient Olympic athletes ate honey and dried figs to enhance their performance. This has now been verified with modern studies, showing that it is superior in maintaining glycogen levels and improving recovery time than other sweeteners. 5. Reduces cough and throat irritation: Honey helps with coughs, particularly buckwheat honey. In a study of 110 children, a single dose of buckwheat honey was just as effective as a single dose of dextromethorphan in relieving nocturnal cough and allowing proper sleep. 6. Balances the 5 elements: Honey has been used in Ayurvedic medicine in India for at least 4,000 years and is considered to affect all three of the body’s primitive material imbalances positively. It is also said to be useful in improving eyesight, weight loss, curing impotence and premature ejaculation, urinary tract disorders, bronchial asthma, diarrhea and nausea. Honey is referred as “Yogavahi” since it has a quality of penetrating the deepest tissues of the body. When honey is used with other herbal preparations, it enhances the medicinal qualities of those preparations and also helps them to reach the deeper tissues. 7. Helps regulate blood sugar: Even though honey contains simple sugars, it is not the same as white sugar or artificial sweeteners. Its exact combination of fructose and glucose actually helps the body regulate blood sugar levels. Some honeys have a low hypoglycemic index, so they don’t jolt your blood sugar. 8. Heals wounds and burns: External application of honey has been shown to be as effective as conventional treatment with silver sulfadiazene. It is speculated that the drying effect of the simple sugars and honey’s anti-bacterial nature combine to create this effect. 9. Is probiotic: Some varieties of honey possess large amounts of friendly bacteria. This includes up to 6 species of lactobacilli and 4 species of bifidobacteria. This may explain many of the mysterious therapeutic properties of honey. 10. Helps improve skin: Its anti-bacterial qualities are particularly useful for the skin, and, when used with the other ingredients, honey can also be moisturizing and nourishing. For a powerful home beauty treatment for which you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen already, read Carrot Face Mask. Now the label side of Honey; directly from the USDA Regulations on Honey classification labeling...

If you want to offer us your opinion, click on the button labeled My Opinion. Thank you.

“…honey does not require official inspection in order to carry official USDA grade marks and since there are no existing programs that require the official inspection and certification of honey…”

USDA Honey Grading   The USDA publishes a grading system for extracted honey that provides general standards for two types of honey; 1. Filtered Honey: all or most of the fine particles, pollen grains, air bubbles, or other materials normally found in suspension, have been removed. 2. Strained Honey: strained to the extent that most of the particles, including comb, propolis, or other defects normally found in honey, have been removed. Grains of pollen, small air bubbles, and very fine particles would not normally be removed. Characteristics covered by the USDA grading system for Honey: Moisture content, absence of defects, flavor & aroma and clarity (for filtered honey). Color is defined but not part of the calculation of grade. For imported honey that bears USDA grading information, the country of origin must be declared. Characteristics Not covered by the USDA honey grading system: It is important to note that this is a voluntary system. No enforcement or checking is performed. For that reason and because of the grading system is lacking in several key areas, this grading system should never be the only deciding factor in selecting honey, there are many important honey characteristics not covered by the USDA grading system. Two honeys could be legally graded as Grade A honey and be identically labeled as, “100% Organic Clover Honey from Arizona – USDA Grade A” yet be entirely different honeys. They could be a blend of honeys from all over the world, some heated to 180 degrees to make it easy to filter, contain antibiotics, chemicals and corn syrup, not made from Clover at all nor actually be from plants in Arizona! Also note that from the USDA Rules and Regulations, “…honey does not require official inspection in order to carry official USDA grade marks and since there are no existing programs that require the official inspection and certification of honey,…” Not covered: Purity or added ingredients (sugar or syrups), heating, contaminants, authenticity of labeling (natural, organic, raw, unheated), biological source (floral, honeydew), botanical source (Arcacia, Clover etc.), or regional source. Many of these factors are defined and followed for honeys from other countries (Europe, Australia, New Zealand) and supported via honey standards and labeling, but are not part of a grading system per se. For honey from the United States, the best policy for determining the level of quality is to purchase honey directly from the honey farmer or a trusted distributor or supplier who can vouch for the honey source and processing methods. It is important to note that some states are now considering enforcing standards for honey produced in their state. Florida is the first state to actually create and enforce a honey identity standard. Other states with honey standards: California – scroll to Division 13. Bee Management and Honey Production. Wisconsin and North Carolina are close to adopting a standard. USDA Honey Grading Standard – U.S. Grade A is the quality of extracted honey that meets the applicable requirements of Table A and has a minimum total score of 90 points. –  U.S. Grade B is the quality of extracted honey that meets the applicable requirements of Table A and has a minimum total score of 80 points. –  U.S. Grade C is the quality of extracted honey that meets the applicable requirements of Table A and has a minimum total score of 70 points. TABLE A

How to Interpret Table A: • Moisture Content: Percentage of water. Percentage of soluble solids =100% –  moisture content% o Grade A – Maximum Moisture Content: 18.6%; or Minimum Percent Soluble Solids: 81.4% o Grade B – Maximum Moisture Content: 18.6%; or Minimum Percent Soluble Solids: 81.4% o Grade C – Maximum Moisture Content: 20%; or Minimum Percent Soluble Solids: 80% • Absence of Defects: Means the degree of freedom from particles of comb, propolis, or other defects which may be in suspension or deposited as sediment in the honey. o Grade A – 37 to 40 points; Practically free – practically none that affect appearance or edibility o Grade B – 34 to 36 points; Reasonably free – do not materially affect the appearance or edibility o Grade C – 31 to 33 points; Fairly free – do not seriously affect the appearance or edibility • Flavor & Aroma: The degree of taste excellence and aroma for the predominant floral source o Grade A – 45 to 50 points; Good – free from caramelization, smoke, fermentation, chemicals, and other causes. o Grade B – 40 to 44 points; Reasonably good – practically free from caramelization; free from smoke, fermentation, chemicals, and other causes. o Grade C – 35 to 39 points; Fairly good – reasonably free from caramelization; free from smoke, fermentation, chemicals, and other causes. • Clarity: With respect to filtered style only, the apparent transparency or clearness of honey to the eye and to the degree of freedom from air bubbles, pollen grains, or other fine particles of any material suspended in the product o Grade A – 8 to 10 points: Clear – may contain air bubbles that do not materially affect the appearance; may contain a trace of pollen grains or other finely divided particles in suspension that do not affect appearance. o Grade B – 6 to 7 points: Reasonably clear – may contain air bubbles, pollen grains, or other finely divided particles in suspension that do not materially affect the appearance. o Grade C – 4 to 5 points: Fairly clear – may contain air bubbles, pollen grains, or other finely divided particles in suspension that do not seriously the affect the appearance. • Color designations (not used for grading): Typically the color indicates the strength of the flavor of the honey. Darker honey tends to be stronger than light. There are some exceptions. Linden or Basswood honey is light in color but has a strong flavor, while Tulip Tree honey is dark but has a milder flavor. o Water White: Honey that is Water White or lighter in color; Pfund Scale: 8 or less; Optical Density: 0.0945 o Extra White: Honey that is darker than Water White; but not darker than Extra White in color. Pfund Scale: Over 8 to and including 17;Optical Density: 189 o White: Honey that is darker than Extra White, but not darker than White in color; Pfund Scale: Over 17 to and including 34; Optical Density: .378 o Extra Light Amber: Honey that is darker than White, but not darker than Extra light Amber in color; Pfund Scale: Over 34 to and including 50; Optical • Density: 595 Light Amber: Honey that is darker than Extra Light Amber, but not darker than light Amber in color; Pfund Scale: Over 50 to and including 85; Optical Density: 1.389 o Amber: Honey that is darker than light Amber, but not darker than Amber in color; Pfund Scale: Over 85 to and including 114; Optical Density: 3.008 o Dark Amber: Honey that is darker than Amber in color; Pfund Scale: Over 114

April 11 2017