- perm_identity Apicultor tradicional
- label The Honey
Honey is the only natural food that does not rot or spoil, that lasts forever and after five years in the kitchen cupboard it is still edible.
Any packaged food, including honey, must carry a label indicating the expiration date, among other things.
Normally placed in a visible place, it must show the expiration date or preferential consumption as well as the sanitary registration of the packaging company, all this is to comply with current law. Currently for honey, the preferred consumption is 2 years from the date of packaging.
In this way, the consumer has secure information about their consumption, as well as the guarantee of a safe product.
Expiration date or preferential consumption? Differences.
For honey, the date indicated on the label is the "best before" date, which is very different from the "expiration date"
expiration date preferred consumption honey
The "expiration" date means that the product has a life that ends when that date is exceeded, so the packager does not guarantee the properties of the product outside that period.
On the other hand, the "preferential consumption" date means that outside that period of time, the product is still safe for consumption, but the manufacturer cannot guarantee its properties 100%.
Now comes an exceptional case, and that is honey. In the packaging of the honey we can find a label that tells us "preferred date of consumption", which is telling us that outside that period, its consumption is completely safe.
But, then, if honey never expires, why does it have that date? The answer is as follows: The current food law requires all packagers of food products to set a maximum date of 2 years, even though honey is a product that we can say "never expires", or rather we could say that we could consume it over the years without diminishing its qualities
How could we find out if our honey has deteriorated?
Defining what can be considered "deterioration" is not so easy. A clear example would be if when opening the container all the liquid comes out somewhat violently through the lid.
This means that for various reasons, which is usually mainly due to excess moisture, it has fermented due to the enzymes it contains, releasing gas that, when the lid is opened, comes out.
Another deterioration that it could suffer would be if it has been exposed to the sun for a long time, as well as if it has been exposed to humidity. For this reason, the packer has to guide us on how to preserve it correctly.
My honey has gone from a liquid state to a crystallized state, why?
If honey is bought in a season of the year where it is hot, it is in a liquid and slightly viscous state, but as we find ourselves in the autumn or winter seasons, its state will change to solid.
It is still the same product, with the same properties, the only thing that has happened is that its status has changed.
However, this is usually a guarantee of purity, since this phenomenon means that the product is completely natural and pure.
Another question and another topic is when it is adulterated with other products such as water, glucose, thickeners, etc. some of which do expire. But then that would no longer be honey.
Honey changes its appearance and texture to the point of crystallizing. But it does not mean deterioration or loss of nutritional properties; on the contrary, crystallization is totally natural and is the guarantee of what is called, in beekeeping jargon, purity.
The crystallization process is something natural in almost all honeys and it is the best way for them to maintain their natural properties.
Do not be scared when small crystals or small spots begin to appear in the honey, since that does not mean that it is not useful, but rather that it is the result of particles such as enzymes and pollen that remain in it since it is made.
How to buy honey with quality guarantees?
The main signal of quality that any packager can offer us would be that its label put "raw honey". This means that it is very beneficial for health because it is packaged as it comes from the hive, without any prior or subsequent treatment, without the use of medications and without mixing it with other products such as glucose.
If you really want to obtain quality and guarantee in your purchase, here you have all the varieties of raw honey with a result in flavor, texture and intact properties.
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