Bees do not respect property lines, which creates an unusual obstacle for American beekeepers who want to sell certified organic honey.
Under current organic requirements, beekeepers must use approved colony-management practices and provide a large surrounding area where bees can forage without encountering synthetic pesticides, fertilizers or other prohibited substances. Because honeybees may travel several miles from their hives, finding enough qualifying land is difficult across much of the continental United States.
A new study suggests those land requirements may not always reflect the actual pesticide residues found in honey. Researchers reported that 98.2% of samples from organically managed colonies on six Northeastern farms stayed within pesticide contamination limits used for organic certification.
The honey was not certified organic because the farms did not meet the surrounding-land requirement. Passing a pesticide residue screen also does not mean a product satisfies every organic certification standard.
Still, the findings suggest some U.S. beekeepers may be able to produce honey with pesticide residue levels comparable to imported organic products even when they cannot provide several miles of fully certified land around their hives.
The study was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment and led by researchers at Penn State, Cornell University and Auburn University.
“Based on our group’s previous research, we know that organic beekeeping is both very good for the health of honeybees and can also be economically profitable for beekeepers,” said co-author Margarita López-Uribe, a professor in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “And while domestic demand is increasing yearly for organic honey, American beekeepers do not currently have access to that growing market.”
Researchers established 72 honeybee colonies using organic management practices on six large organic farms in the Northeast. Natural and seminatural habitats made up between 56% and 93% of the land within approximately 1.9 miles of the farms.
Organic colony management generally prohibits synthetic miticides, which are pesticides used to control mites that feed on bees. The researchers followed organic management standards for the colonies but did not require the surrounding land to meet the full organic foraging-zone rules.
After one year, the team tested the honey for 96 pesticide residues. Researchers then compared those results with 20 brands of store-bought organic and conventional honey.
When they considered pesticide contamination limits alone, 98.2% of the honey samples from the research colonies met the relevant organic thresholds. Only one sample exceeded a maximum residue limit.
The researchers also reported that the organically managed honey had residue levels comparable to imported certified organic honey and lower than conventional honey.
That does not mean the samples were pesticide-free. A laboratory may detect a small amount of a pesticide even when the concentration remains below a certification or regulatory limit.
Organic certification also does not guarantee that a food contains no trace residues. It regulates farming and production practices, including which substances may be used, but environmental contamination can still occur.
The study was designed to evaluate pesticide contamination and organic certification standards, not whether eating the tested honey affected human health. Detecting a residue does not necessarily mean the amount is high enough to present a health risk.
The researchers’ central question was whether the large foraging-zone requirement is the main factor preventing continental U.S. honey from qualifying as organic. Their findings suggest colony treatments may be at least as important.
A portion of certified organic honey sampled from Hawaiian apiaries exceeded the organic standard for miticide residues. Miticides are used to control parasitic mites, but synthetic versions generally are not allowed in organic beekeeping.
“The trace levels of miticides found in these samples are puzzling, as their use is not allowed in certified organic beekeeping operations,” said Robyn Underwood, an apiculture educator with Penn State Extension and a study collaborator. “We are, therefore, interested in investigating alternative routes of contamination.”
The study did not determine whether those residues came from prohibited treatments, previously contaminated equipment, environmental exposure or another source. The finding should not be interpreted as evidence that the sampled beekeepers intentionally violated organic standards.
The results also should not be generalized to all honey produced in the continental United States. The experimental colonies were located on six large organic farms in the Northeast, and the surrounding landscapes included substantial amounts of natural and seminatural habitat.
Honey produced near conventional crops, industrial areas, densely populated communities or other landscapes could have different residue patterns. Additional research would be needed across more regions, seasons and types of farms.
The study also does not show that the organic label is meaningless. Organic certification includes colony treatments, management practices, recordkeeping and environmental requirements that extend beyond the pesticide concentration measured in the finished honey.
Instead, the research raises a narrower question: Should surrounding-land requirements carry as much weight when honey from organically managed colonies consistently stays within organic residue limits?
“As a result of the challenges of finding enough land to satisfy this requirement, U.S. beekeepers have effectively been excluded from producing certified organic honey,” López-Uribe said. “We wanted to know whether we could produce honey that was comparable to USDA certified organic honeys even without meeting the land requirements.”
The findings suggest that may be possible in some environments. They also provide evidence that regulators could use when evaluating whether organic honey standards can better reflect both the realities of bee foraging and the contamination found in the finished product.
The research was supported by the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.