Raw honey is honey that hasn’t been heated or pasteurized, and it contains natural vitamins, enzymes, powerful antioxidants, and other important nutrients. Raw honey has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties, and promotes digestive health. Raw, local honey also contains a blend of local pollen, which can strengthen a person’s immune system, and reduce pollen allergy symptoms. When honey is removed from the hive, it needs to be strained to remove parts of bee bodies and pieces of wax. If a coarse strainer is used without heating, then the honey will contain the pollen that was present in the original honey from the local area. If this local honey is ingested regularly, it can reduce pollen allergy symptoms in humans. By supporting local honey producers, you can verify that the honey you’re purchasing is truly raw and has the beneficial properties that humans have used for centuries to treat many ailments. However, most commercial honey does not use the processing methods. Instead, very fine filters are used along with heat to create pasteurised honey with a long shelf life. The pasteurised, and ultra-filtered honey does not have the nutritional benefits of raw honey. What’s the difference? In the U.S., the FDA says that any product that’s been ultra-filtered and no longer contains pollen isn’t honey. But, no ones checking U.S. honey to see if it contains pollen. Ultra filtering is a procedure where honey is heated, sometimes watered down, and then forced at high pressure through extremely small filters to remove pollen (which is the only foolproof sign identifying the source of the honey). It is a technique refined by the Chinese, who have illegally dumped tons of their honey (some containing illegal antibiotics and other substances such as heavy metals) on the U.S. market for years. Food Safety News decided to test honey sold in various outlets to find out whether it was truly honey. They purchased more than 60 jars, jugs and plastic bears of honey in 10 states and the District of Columbia. After having them analyzed, they found that: 76% of samples bought at groceries had all the pollen removed, 100% of the honey sampled from drugstores had no pollen. 77% of the honey sampled from big box stores had the pollen filtered out. 100% of the honey packaged in small individual portions had no pollen. If it’s not honey, and it doesn’t have the nutritional benefits of honey – what’s the point of buying what’s in the stores? Support your local apiarist and honey bees! http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/reasons-to-buy-raw-local-honey/ Photo Peter Debicki