Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Beekeepers to discuss authenticating honey

Updated at 9:10 am on 29 June 2010

Beekeepers are discussing the latest developments in authenticating honey and other bee products at their national conference in Nelson this week.

President Frans Laas says being able to prove where the honey comes from is essential because there have already been cases of honey falsely labelled as a New Zealand product appearing in overseas markets.

He says that puts at risk New Zealand's good reputation for the honey it produces and the premium prices it gets as a result.

Mr Laas says the tools are now available to prove or disprove honey's place of origin.

He says beekeepers will hear about the geochemical tracing system that Dunedin-based company Oritain uses to authenticate honey and other products.

The conference began on Sunday with a forum for hobby beekeepers.

Other topics over the next two days will cover new standards for manuka honey, pest management strategies and the alternatives to chemicals that are emerging for controlling the varroa mite honey-bee parasite.

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