Humans have been eating honey for ages, with paintings dated to roughly 25 000 years ago in a cave in Spain depicting bees and honey collection ladders. It’s valued traditionally not just for its sweet taste and the energy it gives, but for health and medicinal properties.
Today, however, most honey on shop shelves is not the raw variety our ancestors consumed, straight from the honeycomb, or at most filtered to remove particles of beeswax and dead bees. Instead, it is pasteurised – heated to kill yeast, which can cause fermentation and crystallisation that may make honey less visually appealing and marketable – or irradiated – exposed to radiation to kill bacteria, make it smoother, and extend its shelf life.
Both pasteurisation and irradiation can affect honey’s composition and nutritional value.
Know the difference
• Raw, unprocessed honey: Contains bee pollen (a mix of flower pollen, nectar and enzymes secreted by bees’ salivary glands), and bee propolis (a sticky substance they use to hold their hive together), and has a range of vitamins, minerals and amino acids, but in trace amounts. Bee pollen has been found in a review study to have antifungal, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, immune-stimulating, and local analgesic (painkilling) actions, and help with burn wound healing. Propolis has been shown to have antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiulcer, anticancer, and immunomodulatory properties (source).
Many studies have linked raw honey with health benefits, including treatment of respiratory, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular problems and some cancers, along with wound healing (source). However, raw honey may also contain tiny amounts of Clostridium botulinum bacteria, which can be harmful to infants under 12 months old, before their digestive tract has developed enough to fight it off, though not to most older children and adults, says Johannesburg-based dietitian Lila Bruk.
• Pasteurised honey: Although there have been no formal studies on how the heating process affects antioxidant and other levels in honey, many studies have shown heating decreases levels in other foods.
• Irradiated (or ‘radurised’) honey: This is treated with ionizing radiation to kill bacteria, moulds and other pathogens, but may also destroy ‘friendly’ enzymes and other microorganisms, affecting the honey’s nutritional and other beneficial properties. Few studies directly compare raw with irradiated honey, but one in 2014 found while the pH, acidity, minerals and sugar content were not affected significantly, moisture and vitamin E content decreased. “However, significant increases in colour intensity and vitamin C were observed,” said the researchers.
In South Africa, irradiation is overseen by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, which regulates honey and bee products, and by the Department of Health, which is responsible for food safety and hygiene, monitoring irradiated food and ensuring compliance with Good Irradiation Practices. By law, all honey imported into South Africa must be irradiated – estimated to be 60% of the honey available. This follows outbreaks of American foulbrood disease which wiped out bee colonies in the Western Cape. Irradiation measures were introduced to prevent further outbreaks and protect local bees.
Tell the difference
If you choose to consume only pure, non-irradiated raw honey, you need to check food labels, says Bruk. The Agricultural Product Standards Act requires that honey which has been irradiated must state ‘irradiated’ or ‘radurised’ on the packaging (including the international Radura symbol is optional). In addition, the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act requires that all products subjected to irradiation, including honey, be labelled. However, many products fail to adhere to this.
There is also ‘fake honey’ on the market, mostly imported, that has been adulterated and bulked up with molasses, sugar, corn or rice syrup or other sweeteners and thickening agents. It tends to be very runny, overwhelmingly sweet, lacking the complex flavour of real honey, and to sell at a much lower price. There is no accurate way to tell if it is fake without a laboratory report.
Your best protection is to buy honey from established and trusted honey brands, or local beekeepers who list the beekeeper’s name and contact details on the label, or from reputable suppliers, says Bruk. Today these include not only farmers’ markets and health shops, but some leading supermarkets and pharmacies, including Clicks.
Be aware
Raw honey is not the same as organic honey. Raw honey is honey that has not been pasteurised, processed or irradiated. Organic honey is honey from a bee farm which meets organic standards, meaning the bees, flower, and honey are not allowed to come in contact with chemicals or pesticides. It may also be pasteurised, processed, or irradiated to kill bacteria, though this is not standard practice for organic honey.
Also keep in mind that honey is still sugar, says Bruk. “People have this misconception that honey is low in calories, but it’s similar to maple syrup and coconut sugar in that it is still a source of sugar, albeit a less refined one. It is no different in calories to regular table sugar.” A 2023 review of 48 clinical trials on the effects of honey on human health concluded it should be consumed “occasionally and with moderation”, and that “more studies are necessary to establish more specific recommendations on honey consumption”.
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