HOW TO ORGANISE A RESIDUE MONITORING SCHEME UNDER
STANDARD CONDITIONS
Gilles Ratia - Apiservices

This page summarises information contained in Gilles Ratia's presentation to the
Bees for Development Honey Trade Workshop held in Dublin, Ireland in August 2005.

Images © Gilles Ratia

You can also download and view Gilles Ratia's complete PowerPoint presentation here

CAUSES OF CONTAMINATION: External (environment) Atmosphere Soil Water Internal (beekeeping) Treatment (diseases) Treatment (Wax Moth) Wood protection Feeding (syrups, candy) Smoke Chemical repulsive products Unhygienic honey house No food grade equipment Bad containers

Download a quality self-evaluation questionnaire from: www.beekeeping.com

Photos: Uzbekistan
Click on a thumbnail image (below) to select a larger version then browse the Workshop Gallery. Larger images may require time to load over slower connections (56kbps or less)

Images © Gilles Ratia

TARGETED PRODUCTS FOR EXAMINATION

• Banned veterinary substances (such as chloramphenicol or nitrofurans)

• Authorised veterinary substances (but found in excess of their authorised limits, such as antibiotics and insecticides)

• Environmental pollutants (such as pesticides or heavy metals)

• Each year a minimum of 10 samples by block of 300 tonnes for a total under 3,000 tonnes. After 3,000 tonnes, just 1 sample by block of 300 tonnes.

EU LABORATORIES

Rijksinstituut voor de Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiëne (RIVM)
A. van Leeuwenhoeklaan, 9 NI-3720 BA Bilthoven - Netherlands

Laboratoires des Médicaments Vétérinaires (AFSSA-LMV)
La-Haute-Marche, Javene F-35135 Fougères - France

Bundesinstitut für Gesundheitlichen Verbraucherschutz und Veterinärmedizin (BGVV), Diedersdorfer Weg 1 D-12277 Berlin - Germany

Instituto Superiore di Sanità Viale Regina Elena,
299 I-00161 Roma - Italy

AVOIDING CONTAMINATION IN THE APIARY

• Do not treat the hives with antibiotics as a preventive measure. If antibiotics are necessary, you must take off the supers first, and make sure you follow the directions exactly

• Do not feed with syrup or sugar during honey flows

• Recycle all super frames that have contained fermented honey or mouldy pollen

• Avoid excessive use of the smoker when harvesting, this can give a stale tobacco taste to the honey and can contaminate it with tar residue

• Always harvest frames that are well sealed (at least 70% is reasonable) otherwise the moisture content will be too high and the honey will ferment

• Care should be taken if using a chemical repellent for harvesting

• Do not put supers on the ground, but on an upturned hive cover

AVOIDING CONTAMINATION IN THE HONEY HOUSE

• Extract the honey in a room protected from external humidity and bees

• The floor, walls and partitions must have a waterproof surface that will not rot to allow for efficient washing

• Never heat honey above 38°C (105°F)

• Machines and containers must be made of stainless steel or food-quality plastic. If this is not possible any other material must be sealed with food-quality paint

• Never smoke during extraction

• Pre-filter honey as it leaves the extractor (for large pieces of wax)

• Filter honey through a fine sieve (nylon netting) as it goes into tanks and/or drums

• Do not leave honey in hot rooms or places exposed to the sun

• Time to produce 30 ppb of HMF (Hydroxymehylfurfural)

• Hydroxymehylfurfural

• Prevent the honey from reabsorbing moisture by making sure tanks, drums and containers are properly shut

• Pollen sorting/cleaning cannot be done at the same time as honey extraction

• Work which does not include food products (preparing wax or frames for example) must not be carried out at the same time as work with honey

• The honey house must not be washed until all the honey has been stored in airtight containers

• No chemical products (detergents, glue for labels, medicines, herbicides, etc) are allowed in the extraction room or the honey storeroom

• Do not use old oil drums even when waxed

  Download Gilles Ratia's PowerPoint presentation (970kb .pps file)