Dry season increases toxic honey risk

New Zealand’s long, dry summer could impact on honey production, with weather conditions leading to higher-than-usual levels of tutin in honey, the NZ Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) warns.

Tutin contamination, which causes toxicity in honey, is often found in late-season honey harvested in the North Island and top of the South Island. It occurs when bees collect honeydew from passion-vine hoppers that have been feeding on tutu (Coriaria arborea), a poisonous New Zealand shrub.

Limits for tutin in honey are set out in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code; options for beekeepers to ensure their honey meets these limits are set out in the Food (Tutin in Honey) Standard 2010.

Beekeepers in risk areas must test honey harvested after 1 January each year - the risk period for tutin contamination. If beekeepers have done a detailed survey of their bees’ predictable foraging area and determined it is not a significant growing area for tutu, they will be exempted from testing.

“If a beekeeper has any doubts about the safety of their honey, the best option is always to thoroughly blend it and have it tested at one of the commercial laboratories that offer this service,” MPI Principal Adviser Animal Products Jim Sim said.

Tutin is well known as a natural toxin in honey in some parts of New Zealand. In April 2008, a total of 22 people fell seriously ill after eating tutin-contaminated honeycomb.

“The onus is on beekeepers to ensure any honey they sell is safe,” Sim said.