Bee farmers want processing technologies

By Prossy Nandudu

FARMERS into Apiculture want technologies that will stop their honey from crystallizing and forming granules while on the shelves in selling points like supermarkets.

Farmers said most of them have been called back by the operators of supermarkets to take back the crystallized honey after being rejected by customers.

"Customers keep rejecting honey with particles thinking that we have added other things if we can be helped to get skills on how to keep honey in liquid form as demanded by customers, this will push our business forward," said Christine Ogwang the processor of Gates Honey.

Polly Apolot added that they also want to be helped to get modern bee keeping hives to improve on quality of the honey.

This was during business meeting for stakeholders into the Apiculture sector, at Kati Kati Restaurant, organized by The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organization (TUNADO), supported by Oxfam.

However a senior entomologist and president of the Entomological Association of Uganda Tom Onzivua said crystallized honey doesn't mean that it has gone bad.

Onzivua added that honey is composed of simple sugars like fructose; when fructose is high and the honey is allowed to stand in a jar, it turns into granules.

"To reverse this put the container into warm water for the honey to melt but honey shouldn't be boiled because this destroyed its chemical properties and nothing should be added as this leads to adulteration," explained Onzivua.

He also said that the level of crystallization varies from individual geographical setting to another depending on the type of vegetation where bees are kept and where they get the nectar from.

Dickson Biryomumaisho, the executive director of TUNADO explained that the meeting was aimed at equipping the beekeepers and processors the skills of marketing their products in addition to giving them tips on how to penetrate supermarkets.

At the same even, James Ochan from capital shoppers advised processors of honey on how to penetrate supermarkets and these include;

Address and location of the product for traceability purposes, trading license of the area of operation, price list, actual weight, quality of the honey, branding of the product must be attractive, taste of the honey must be appealing and also the product must have a bar-code for scanning purposes.