Earlier this year the Food Standards Association issued a warning against
consuming honey derived from Pattersons Curse because of toxins that cause
liver damage. The warning applies "to people who eat more than two table-
spoonsful of honey per day" according to a newspaper article. This
prolifically-flowering roadside weed is recognizable by its purple flowers,
and while known to pasturalists as Pattersons Curse is at the same time
known to beekeepers as Salvation Jane because at certain times of the year
it is often the only source of local nectar available to keep bees alive.

The warning about Australian honey coincided with a warning to consumers by
Channel 7 that lab testing of samples of Capilano honey has revealed traces
of a banned nitrofuran antibiotic. Apparently the shortage of local honey
has forced big producers to import honey, mostly from Argentina, and they
are finding that honey from Argentina is contaminated by this toxin, carrying
associated carcinogenic and mutagenic concerns. I note that the Woolworths
Home Brand of honey is packed in Denmark from "imported ingredients".

BTW, anyone know of a source of bulk honey in Sydney? While I did find one,
it's pricing worked out to be more expensive than buying honey by the 1kg
bottle from Woolworths.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

g'day john,

from what i have heard about the local honey industry not producers
but packagers i wouldn't buy any honey off the shelf.

when i need honey i can usually find a bee keeper somewhere willing to
part with some un-adulaterated honey product. my advice would be if
you have found a bulk suppliers am guessing a bee keeper you can't
realy compare his price with the stuff they sell in supermarkets chalk
& cheese to me.

just how i see it

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

Dear John,
Pure Beechworth Honey is 100% Australian honey produced in Australian
apiaries. It's sold in tubs in woolies. Just boil old capilano squeeze
bottles and refill with this stuff.
Consumer information # is 02 6033 2322
Otherwise you might find an old capilano on the shelf... look for old dusty
labels, and then check, there are still some 100% Australian sources if you
go to shops where honey has been slow moving.
Hope that helps,
Jade.




"John Savage" wrote in message
om...
Earlier this year the Food Standards Association issued a warning against
consuming honey derived from Pattersons Curse because of toxins that cause
liver damage. The warning applies "to people who eat more than two table-
spoonsful of honey per day" according to a newspaper article. This
prolifically-flowering roadside weed is recognizable by its purple
flowers,
and while known to pasturalists as Pattersons Curse is at the same time
known to beekeepers as Salvation Jane because at certain times of the year
it is often the only source of local nectar available to keep bees alive.

The warning about Australian honey coincided with a warning to consumers
by
Channel 7 that lab testing of samples of Capilano honey has revealed
traces
of a banned nitrofuran antibiotic. Apparently the shortage of local honey
has forced big producers to import honey, mostly from Argentina, and they
are finding that honey from Argentina is contaminated by this toxin,
carrying
associated carcinogenic and mutagenic concerns. I note that the Woolworths
Home Brand of honey is packed in Denmark from "imported ingredients".

BTW, anyone know of a source of bulk honey in Sydney? While I did find
one,
it's pricing worked out to be more expensive than buying honey by the 1kg
bottle from Woolworths.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

Hi,

A vote in favour of Beechworth honey. Recently switched from Capilano after
the hearing about the Argentinean issue. Really glad we switched - Capilano
has a very odd (unpleasant) flavour, whereas the Beechworth has a fabulous
'pure' taste...the way I remember honey used to be

Cheers, Cliff


"Jade" Jade_at_Jaywings_dot_com wrote in message
...
Dear John,
Pure Beechworth Honey is 100% Australian honey produced in Australian
apiaries. It's sold in tubs in woolies. Just boil old capilano squeeze
bottles and refill with this stuff.
Consumer information # is 02 6033 2322
Otherwise you might find an old capilano on the shelf... look for old
dusty
labels, and then check, there are still some 100% Australian sources if
you
go to shops where honey has been slow moving.
Hope that helps,
Jade.




"John Savage" wrote in message
om...
Earlier this year the Food Standards Association issued a warning
against
consuming honey derived from Pattersons Curse because of toxins that
cause
liver damage. The warning applies "to people who eat more than two
table-
spoonsful of honey per day" according to a newspaper article. This
prolifically-flowering roadside weed is recognizable by its purple
flowers,
and while known to pasturalists as Pattersons Curse is at the same time
known to beekeepers as Salvation Jane because at certain times of the
year
it is often the only source of local nectar available to keep bees
alive.

The warning about Australian honey coincided with a warning to consumers
by
Channel 7 that lab testing of samples of Capilano honey has revealed
traces
of a banned nitrofuran antibiotic. Apparently the shortage of local
honey
has forced big producers to import honey, mostly from Argentina, and
they
are finding that honey from Argentina is contaminated by this toxin,
carrying
associated carcinogenic and mutagenic concerns. I note that the
Woolworths
Home Brand of honey is packed in Denmark from "imported ingredients".

BTW, anyone know of a source of bulk honey in Sydney? While I did find
one,
it's pricing worked out to be more expensive than buying honey by the
1kg
bottle from Woolworths.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

"Jade" Jade_at_Jaywings_dot_com writes:
Pure Beechworth Honey is 100% Australian honey produced in Australian
apiaries. It's sold in tubs in woolies.

Hi. I took another look at the honey shelf. Almost ALL the honey is now
labelled Pure Australian Honey! Capilano must have got the message, it
is now Pure Australian Honey (except for some bottles which were marked a
discounted price). Even Coles own brand is 100% Australian, whereas before
it was local and imported honey. Allowrie honey is labelled Pure Australian
Honey, and is the only one in a large container (1.5 kg). Beechworth was
only in a tiny bottle in our local Coles.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

g'day john,

reckon the standard for honey must have slipped under the pure food
labelling rules or something? i have been told there is more than
honey in that brand honey and the other big companies as well. for me
pure honey is what comes out of a bee hive yes it can be mixed with
honey from hives that have sourced other flower vaieties hence
different colours and flavours. when we used to feed a honey mix to
the lorrikeets we would buy honey from a local bloke with hives, when
we used any of those store bought ones the dishes we fed the birds in
would go black with mould but no such thing with the real stuff.

when i need honey i try to source if right from the blokes with the
hives, sure as heck tastes a whole heap different.

len


snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

John Savage wrote:


BTW, anyone know of a source of bulk honey in Sydney? While I did find one,
it's pricing worked out to be more expensive than buying honey by the 1kg
bottle from Woolworths.

Do you know where Dolls Point is John?
M

len gardener wrote in message . ..
g'day john,

reckon the standard for honey must have slipped under the pure food
labelling rules or something? i have been told there is more than
honey in that brand honey and the other big companies as well.

I can't comment on specific homey brnads but sometimes glucose syrup
is added to homey. Raw honey is filtered and often pasteurised to stop
the aged honey from candying.

for me
pure honey is what comes out of a bee hive yes it can be mixed with
honey from hives that have sourced other flower vaieties hence
different colours and flavours.

I probably have the ideal honey source. I live on 1,000 acres of
mostly open eucalypt forest. I have an old bee keeper friend who has
from 30 to 100 hives down in the gum trees. All I ask from him is a
couple of kilgrammes of raw honey from the hives. Great taste, good
colour and 100% pure honey.

when we used to feed a honey mix to
the lorrikeets we would buy honey from a local bloke with hives, when
we used any of those store bought ones the dishes we fed the birds in
would go black with mould but no such thing with the real stuff.

when i need honey i try to source if right from the blokes with the
hives, sure as heck tastes a whole heap different.

The only way to buy honey.

len


snipped

M writes:
John Savage wrote:

BTW, anyone know of a source of bulk honey in Sydney? While I did find one,
it's pricing worked out to be more expensive than buying honey by the 1kg
bottle from Woolworths.

Do you know where Dolls Point is John?

Sans Souci according to my Gregory's. :-)
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

John,

At the bottom of Ramsgate Rd, towards the big supermarket, there's a
little newsagents. Debbie, who works there, sells excellent bulk honey.
$6 a kilo bucket. Sounds very clandestine, but the info comes from my
old Dad, who's certainly no black-marketeer!

Alternately, you could try Nundle General Store, which is selling native
bee honey (appropriately gathered) at $13.50 for 80grams!!!
M

M writes:
At the bottom of Ramsgate Rd, towards the big supermarket, there's a
little newsagents. Debbie, who works there, sells excellent bulk honey.
$6 a kilo bucket. Sounds very clandestine, but the info comes from my
old Dad, who's certainly no black-marketeer!

Thanks, M. I was thinking more along the lines of 10kg to 15kg amounts,
but if ever I'm passing I'll drop in. Might pick up some cheap tobacco
and rum, too wink wink.

Alternately, you could try Nundle General Store, which is selling native
bee honey (appropriately gathered) at $13.50 for 80grams!!!

Ouch! Isn't that the price of silver bullion these days??
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

len gardener writes:
reckon the standard for honey must have slipped under the pure food
labelling rules or something? i have been told there is more than
honey in that brand honey and the other big companies as well. for me

There are always those rumours, though I've never seen any real evidence.
I once met some people who pounced on the fact that their honey was
crystallising as "proof" that it had been adulterated with suger!! "Look,
you can see the sugar there in the bottom of the jar!" Their mind was made
up and they just would not accept that 100% pure honey will do so under
similar storage conditions. I remember years back that alongside the jars
of honey, supermarkets would also sell jars of Honey + Glucose. When at
that time honey was so cheap, I always wondered why anyone would want to
dilute it with glucose? At todays prices, it might be time for a comeback.

I confess that I am a philistine when it comes to honey. I only have it
on cereal, and so long as it's sweet and sticky I don't notice any of the
subtleties about its flavour. (On toast it's different, but I rarely eat
it that way.)

pure honey is what comes out of a bee hive yes it can be mixed with
honey from hives that have sourced other flower vaieties hence
different colours and flavours. when we used to feed a honey mix to
the lorrikeets we would buy honey from a local bloke with hives, when
we used any of those store bought ones the dishes we fed the birds in
would go black with mould but no such thing with the real stuff.

I was telling a mate about the discovery that Manuka Honey will heal
tropical ulcers from the New Guinea jungle that some WW2 vets are still
carrying and bandaging every day. He remarked honey seems to be different
these days, and that a bottle he bought last week smells like ... urine!
I said, "That's what you get for buying the cheap storebrand, probably its
from overseas. What brand is it?" He said it was the local C brand. :-(
I guess it's just that there is such a shortage of local product that the
bottlers are using any and all types they can get their hands on and
blending them so that the stronger stuff that they may in the past have
not used is diluted by the milder.

when i need honey i try to source if right from the blokes with the
hives, sure as heck tastes a whole heap different.

But not so easy here in the big city. :-(

My Dad was an amateur beekeeper, and had about 60 hives dotted around the
countryside wherever he could find trees in blossom. He had his favourite,
yellow box honey. Some of the strong flavoured darker honeys he would not
bottle, just kept it for feeding back to the bees in Winter when their
larder was bare. ISTR that honey from Pattersons Curse was an attractive
pink colour at first, but changed to a dark brown as the honey aged. He
was very reluctant to hire his hives out to fruit growers (who wanted them
for pollination) because may times a neighbouring orchardist would then
spray his own flowering trees and the bees being no respector of boundary
fences would cop a lethal dose and also take it back to poison the hive.

Did you catch the news item last week about Cottees being fined because
their "Apple and Kiwi" cordial contained no apple and no kiwifruit?!! Now
what excuse could there be for that? Apple juice would have to be about
the cheapest juice around! I think the report was probably wrong, as the
contents list on a bottle in the supermarket last week said 39%
reconstituted apple juice. True, there probably is no kiwifruit as it's not
mentioned in the Contents List, so that may have been why Cottees were in
trouble. I see that Berri Lime cordial is 39% apple juice, and just 1% lime
juice (its probably there principally to stop the apple going brown).
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

In article ,
M wrote:

At the bottom of Ramsgate Rd, towards the big supermarket, there's a
little newsagents. Debbie, who works there, sells excellent bulk honey.
$6 a kilo bucket. Sounds very clandestine, but the info comes from my
old Dad, who's certainly no black-marketeer!

That's Ramsgate Baths, not Dolls Point!

But thanks for the tip -- I grew up in Dolls Point and Mum still lives there.
I'll drop into that newsagent soon!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Life is like a cigarette -- smoke it to the butt." -- Harvie Krumpet

Chookie wrote:
In article ,
M wrote:


At the bottom of Ramsgate Rd, towards the big supermarket, there's a
little newsagents. Debbie, who works there, sells excellent bulk honey.
$6 a kilo bucket. Sounds very clandestine, but the info comes from my
old Dad, who's certainly no black-marketeer!


That's Ramsgate Baths, not Dolls Point!

But thanks for the tip -- I grew up in Dolls Point and Mum still lives there.
I'll drop into that newsagent soon!

True, though if you want to get technical, the suburb isn't Ramgsate
Baths either. I just thought that for a bloke who was from "out of town"
he was near enough to work out where I was talking about.

Anyway, good luck with the honey.
M

remember as a kid the old man had a couple dozen hives and he had this
friend who had just as many, they had the equipment to extract honey
and the 4 gallon tins to put it in, they used to sell it privately,
and we got or should i say had to eat heaps of it. most of the time
before we got to the end of one batch the honey would go sugary in the
tins, just what i imagined natural honey must do.

the big company brand honeys don't crystalize anymore, not that i've
noticed anyway, way back then the old man and his mate used to comment
on how packers would add water and liquid glucose & sugar, the thing
is the big boys aren't exactly going to say what goes into their
blends, but people who worked in the industry told me that i would be
surprised to see what they do put in it.

but all i know is there is no comparison with what comes straight out
of the hive, even if it does go candy before it's finished.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/