# Oxalic Acid and Honey super

**URL:** <https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/oxalic-acid-and-honey-super/12146>\
**Category:** Beekeeping - Basics\
**Created:** [July 28, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/oxalic-acid-and-honey-super/12146 "2017-07-28T12:58:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![grathburn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/13edae/32.png) [@grathburn](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/grathburn)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/oxalic-acid-and-honey-super/12146/1 "2017-07-28T12:58:32Z")

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I am new to bee keeping. I have been using Oxalic Acid once a quarter in the hive and did not know that I was supposed to remove the honey super. (I got my OA from another bee keeper with no instructions or warning info). I am worried that now, as I get ready to harvest, I may have contaminated the honey. I am feeling like just leaving it alone and waiting until next year for better options. ?

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**Author:** ![Dawn\_SD](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dawn_sd/32/15954_2.png) [@Dawn\_SD](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dawn_SD)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/oxalic-acid-and-honey-super/12146/2 "2017-07-28T15:59:42Z")

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> [@grathburn](#):
>
> I am feeling like just leaving it alone

I would say that depends on how much of a harvest you have, and how big your hive is and what type of bees. If you have 2 full supers and one brood box with Italian bees, I would probably leave it all for the bees. Italians eat a lot over winter. 😊

On the other hand if you have 2 full brood boxes and 2 or 3 supers, I would consider harvesting the honey from 2 supers for my own personal use. Oxalic acid is a naturally occurring organic acid which is present in many foods in quite high concentrations, including rhubarb, spinach, beets and chocolate. It is only a serious problem if you are prone to forming oxalate kidney stones (some people are). I wouldn’t sell the honey, but I would be willing to risk it for my own use. If you don’t like the taste, you can always feed it back to the bees over winter.

If you have a Flow super, I would definitely harvest it, so that you can get the super off the hive for winter. Bees tend to propolize the plastic frames in cooler weather, and that can be a real pain when you come to the next harvest.

Do you still need information on using Oxalic Acid? A lot of us here use it in various forms, so I am sure we can help. 😉

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**Author:** ![Dee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dee/32/5840_2.png) [@Dee](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dee)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/oxalic-acid-and-honey-super/12146/3 "2017-07-28T17:24:44Z")

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Use it  
Oxalic is a normal constituent of honey and there is more oxalic in a plate of rhubarb crumble than you’ll get in a whole super

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**Author:** ![grathburn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/13edae/32.png) [@grathburn](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/grathburn)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/oxalic-acid-and-honey-super/12146/4 "2017-07-28T17:42:47Z")

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I feel a lot better now, thanks.

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**Author:** ![Eva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@Eva](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Eva)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/oxalic-acid-and-honey-super/12146/5 "2017-07-28T20:32:52Z")

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Hiya. I vaped my colony last year - lost them over the winter - and used the honey they left behind. I froze the combs that had pollen and uncapped nectar & reused them in my new hives.

@Dee I’m craving a rhubarb crumble now! 😋