Hi!
I red a topic in italian about flowhive and I saw the videos.
I could not believe it!
Is it really so simple and the bees won’t flow with the honey?
Because the honey extraction is often linked to food hygiene Regulations and Directives here in Europe that set requirements for honey extraction rooms I want to aks two things:
a)Is these method allowed according to EU food hygiene legislations?
b)And can a neophite in beekeeping start with the flowhive or is it better being an experienced beekeeper?
In small scale beekeeping flowhive innovation would be a revolution !
The bees will not flow into the honey - the drainage gaps are too small.
To answer your questions:
a) I think you will find that the EU regulations apply only to commercial honey production. In the UK, nobody cared how we extracted our honey, as long as we were “hobby” beekeepers. Hobbies are mostly not regulated or policed.
b) The Flow hive has simplified honey extraction. All other parts of beekeeping are unchanged - in other words, you will need to check the box(es) below the Flow box regularly (often weekly to monthly in honey season, less over winter). So yes, a neophyte can start with the Flow hive, it isn’t any harder or any different from any other standard hive. It just makes taking the honey easier, that is all.
You are right, the Flow hive innovation is a revolutionary concept, and it is causing quite a stir in the beekeeping world. 
Dawn
Thanks for the reply.
So the flow hive is not for commercial honey ???
It can be used for any kind of honey (hobby, commercial, bakers whatever), but the hives are too expensive at the moment for commercial beekeepers to consider. So most people buying these hives right now are hobby beekeepers, giving a new tool a try. 
Just to give you an idea, a commercial beekeeper in the US can build a hive from a kit for about $60. The Flow hive is around $700. Most commercial beekeepers won’t buy it at that price.
Dawn
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