Content
- Poison of the jacob shrub also in the honey?
- Bees avoid the herb
- Limit values for food
- Advice for hobby beekeepers
- Tips
Bees usually avoid ragwort
Poison of the jacob shrub also in the honey?
Again and again the Jakobsgreiskraut gets because of the contained toxins in the headlines. Already several times the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) have been detected in honey. The substances accumulate in the body and can be toxic to humans when regularly consumed by contaminated foods and lead to liver damage.
Bees avoid the herb
The Jacobs herb serves many other insects such as butterflies and flies as a source of food, but the bees hardly. If more interesting nectar plants are available, bees do not even fly the ragwort, because the nectar yield of the bright yellow flowers is too low.
However, if the industrious pollen collectors find no other food crops, they are forced to harvest the pollen of the ragwort. The small broilers excrete the toxins directly again. However, the honey can be stressed.
Limit values for food
In addition to honey, traces of PA were also detected in eggs and milk. Experts emphasize that every microgram of the substance is too much, as PA accumulates in the body and it can cause creeping damage. Maybe the toxin will even trigger cancer. For this reason, the EU is currently discussing the introduction of a uniform limit value.
However, in a recent analysis of 126 honey samples, only seven samples were above the recommended limit of 140 micrograms PA per kilo. In almost half of the samples, no PA could be detected.
Advice for hobby beekeepers
When the ragwort is in full bloom, the honey harvest in our agricultural landscape is almost over for many beekeepers. In order to avoid a PA load of honey, experts suggest that the honey should be thrown before the flowering season and the rest of the summer habit should be left to the bees as a natural food.
For insects, the PA content of honey is harmless and unlike horses and cattle they do no harm.
Tips
If you do not want to give up tasty summer honey and at the same time make sure that there is no PA in the honey, you should obtain it from a local beekeeper. Ask if its beehives are near a larger Stagweed Stock.