Toxin stings honey price

Northland beekeepers are relieved the sting has been taken out of regulations covering poisonous tutin in honey that come into force tomorrow.
But the cost of laboratory tests required to assess tutin contamination have not struck such a sweet note, with honey prices predicted to rise as a consequence.
The Food Safety Authority circulated draft tutin regulations for consultation with beekeepers in October last year after 22 cases of food poisoning were reported when people ate Coromandel comb honey containing tutin. Toxin from the native shrub tutu (Coriaria arborea) is extracted by sap-sucking passion vine hoppers which then excrete honeydew collected by bees. The toxin has no effect on bees.
The contaminated Coromandel comb honey, which had tutin levels of 30-50 mg/kg, was produced by Projen Apiaries and branded A Taste of Whangamata Pure Honey. Food Safety Authority senior programme manager for animal products Jim Sim, of Wellington, said on Tuesday he understood a decision had not been made on whether Projen would be prosecuted.
Apart from the Coromandel cases, about 25 cases of tutin honey poisoning had been reported in New Zealand - including some in Northland - during the past 100 years, he said. "And that's just the number reported. I imagine it's only the tip of the iceberg."
The Food Safety Authority set up six consultation meetings around the country to discuss the draft regulations and Northland beekeepers attending a meeting in Auckland on November 14 persuaded FSA officials to hold a further meeting in the North. Kevin Wallace, chairman of the Whangarei Bee Club - the largest body of hobby beekeepers in the country with about 150 members - said 64 people who attended a Whangarei consultation meeting on November 24 had questioned aspects of the draft regulations. As a result the FSA had "backed off a fair bit" and the Food (Tutin Honey) Standard 2008 going into force tomorrow was "not as heavy-handed" as the earlier draft, he said.
The draft required laboratory testing of each batch of honey destined for sale, with comb honey tested after each harvesting. The final standard requires beekeepers to carry out weekly inspections of significant amounts of tutu within 3km of hives. Honey boxes could be lifted clear of hives to avoid contamination, and wet weather lowered risks as rain washed away honeydew.
Once honeydew is found on tutu within 3km of hives, a requirement to extract, blend and test honey from the hives for tutin effectively prohibits the sale of comb honey, which can have high levels of tutin in a small number of cells where honeydew is stored. The maximum level of tutin allowed in comb honey will be 0.1mg/kg, while the maximum level allowed in honey other than comb honey is 2mg/kg.
The Cawthron Institute in Nelson will charge $180 for each honey test, with a 10-day turnaround for results providing the opportunity to test samples in batches, reducing lab costs. Cawthron official Augusta van Wijk said a one-off urgent test could cost about $550.
AsureQuality has indicative costings for tutin in honey tests ranging from $180 to $900 depending on quantity and Hill Laboratories has not yet set a price.
The chief executive officer for the National Beekeepers' Association, Jim Edwards, of Manakau, 12km south-west of Levin, said the associations had worked with the FSA to draw up the tutin standard as apiarists had to look after consumer safety. But testing for tutin would be expensive for commercial honey producers and the cost would inevitably filter down to honey buyers, he said. Mr Edwards estimated Northland had about 200 hobby and commercial beekeepers.