But it is things like using good practice, why we have good practice, how bugs grow, scrupulously clean equipment and containers - Flow will make the honey less “played with” but jars and other utensils still need to be kept and stored correctly - I would hate for people to say “honey is antibacterial” and then put it in a filthy jar (that looks clean) using dirty badly cleaned cloths, tools, buckets etc
Starting with a good product is one thing - giving people food poisoning due to incompetence and lack of understanding is still paramount
Heavens all you need is to put your honey into clean jars.
Open box from supplier; quick wash in a soapy sink/ rinse and dry in the oven/ lids straight on/. store in a cupboard till needed. Dishwasher if you have one, at least they come out dry. It’s not rocket science. You don’t need a degree in hygiene science.
What you do with honey to be consumed at home is up to you. I eat bits of bee…but not poo
Extracted honey goes through a sieve hanging from the spinner straight into a honey bucket with a gate. It’s left till a convenient time to jar… as required. Left this way it does keep forever and if it crystallises it’s much more easily dealt with than if it’s already jarred and labelled.
Having worked in Kitchens since I was 13 I know what goes on - at least here in the UK all food handlers need to have completed or training to do a basic hygiene certificate.
I think you are being a little dramatic.
You are talking to a bunch of hobby beekeepers here.
I’m sure we are all clean
The commercial guys sell bulk honey to packers where different rules apply
I’m not saying people are not clean I’m saying the equipment needs to be - but the personal hygiene is important.
I just don’t want to see a bunch of headlines about bee keepers poisoning people due to lack of knowledge of food production - even on a small scale - it is a basic part of the learning - playing down the hazards you may as well play down the hazards of bee stings - some die not many but deaths occur.
Unfortunately we have the information and research science and all that but Darwin had a theory - I would hate to think bee keepers have to face tighter reforms due to a careless persons incompetence.
You seem to be on a crusade to convert those that aren’t. There won’t be any on this forum. It’s peopled by hobby beekeepers experienced and not experienced with the odd larger beekeeper offering sound advice.
I’m happy to revive this topic, & seeing as the forum has been a bit quiet lately, I thought I’d reply to my comment re: 2 rats for the price of one.
Well I had a first the other night, 3 rats for the price of one. About a week earlier I caught a mother with one daughter, the following night, another daughter, then the other night, what looks to be the last of the litter, two girls & a boy.
Because I’m cutting them up after removing the skin, head & intestines, to feed to the magpies, I take note of pregnancies. The mother with the daughter, was pregnant again, with 7 embryo. That combined with the fact that 4 of the 5 juveniles were girls makes you realize how quickly their numbers can grow, given the right circumstances.
My previous capture about 4 months ago was probably only 1/2 grown with 5 embryo inside her…
Sadly I don’t have any photos. Anyway, my strategy has meant that no sweet corn, or sweet potatoes have been taken over the last 2 years. I let my guard down & lost a bit the previous year.
Hi Kristal, did you see my live rat trap in the photo in the comment that I replied to? Anyway I can copy & paste it. I had to do something serious about catching rats quite a few years ago because they were demolishing my sweet corn before I got to pick them. A honey customer lent me his live rat trap which worked really well, so I went out & bought one myself. This is the one I bought.
I sprinkle wild bird mix on the floor near the bait, which is also wild bird mix set in flour & water dough on one side of cardboard, so that they can only eat it from one side, which moves the wire in the right direction to activate the trap. I also sprinkle a few seeds outside the trap, in order to whet their appetite, enough to draw them inside.
This trap could be more of a possum trap, which I have caught, as well as a large neighbors cat. You can purchase traps online that are purpose built for rats.
