Honey on New Zealand shelves is just that – Honey; no one truly knows which nectars were taken up by the bees to make each batch. We would like to change that. Just like coffee has gone from tins of boring instant to the vast array of choices we have on the supermarket shelves today, we would like to open consumers eyes to the all the amazing different floral origin stories that can come from our delicious New Zealand honey.
The aim of this project is to develop a testing method that will allow beekeepers and marketers to know the percentage of nectar that make up each batch of honey. This will lead to origin stories about the distinct native plants that contributed to the honey and the geographic location, many of which are unique only to New Zealand. “This is a world first” says Dr Mark Goodwin. “It may even change the way the world classifies honey”.
The trial is hoping to begin this spring and we are currently organizing funding but we need to hear from beekeepers, citizens, groups, schools and anyone else interested – both young and old, who would be keen to help us collect bees off flowers.
We believe this project will revolutionize the honey industry – and we need your help.
Media Release 20 August 2022.