The drought conditions much of the country is facing could lead to much higher than usual levels of tutin in honey.
Tutin contamination, which causes toxicity in honey, is often found in late-season honey harvested in the North Island and the top of the South Island.
It occurs when bees
collect honeydew from passion-vine hoppers that have been feeding on tutu, a poisonous New Zealand shrub.
In April 2008, 22 people fell seriously ill after eating tutin-contaminated honeycomb.
The Ministry for Primary Industries says limits for tutin in honey are set in the Australia-New Zealand Food Standards Code and beekeepers have a number of options to ensure their honey meets them.
