Honeybees Undercover

Science Uses Nature’s Detectives to Learn About the Environment

Honeybees produce one of the world’s most prized commodities and they play a crucial role in our food production. But recently, unbeknownst to them, bees have taken on another important job that has the potential to teach us about food security and help us address food related issues. Scientists in multiple fields have begun studying bees and their honey in the hope that what they observe will equip us to be better stewards of our environment and enhance human health.

Consumer Demand for Superfoods

Honey is deemed a superfood for its immune boosting, anti-aging and inflammation reducing qualities and has steadily increased in popularity over the last three decades. On average, Americans consume 1.6 to 1.9 pounds of honey per person per year; either straight out of the jar, or as a sweetener in their favorite food products. We know enough about honey to understand that the all-natural sweetener is a healthy addition to any diet.

Studying bees and their honey isn’t only a focus of the nutrition community. An international effort to grow honeybee populations for the sake of safeguarding pollinators that support agriculture has made bee-related research a priority. A happy byproduct of increased awareness and protection efforts has been higher yields of domestically produced honey. 

The U.S. increased honey production by 11% between 2022 and 2023; however, imports still hover around 440 million pounds per year to meet American demand. That means 75% of honey consumed in the U.S. is from other countries. And, with a growing interest from consumers in knowing where their food comes from and how it is produced, concerted efforts have been made to ensure that our beloved superfood stays super. 

What is Food Adulteration?

Research has expanded to include not just bees and their habitats, but the honey they produce and what it tells us about where it came from and how it was made. Honeybees have been the natural world’s data collection systems since the beginning of time, conducting on the ground research all over the world. Science is helping the food industry identify when honey has been tampered with and when producers are making false claims.

Food adulteration definitions are still evolving in regards to the sweet treat. Honey mixed with sugar, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup is easier to detect while additions of other syrups derived from sources similar to honey can be harder to find during testing. And indirect adulteration can be even more difficult to determine. It’s not uncommon for commercial facilities to feed bees artificial sweeteners or syrups for the sake of manufacturing flavor without having to change product labeling. Uncovering these differences impacts consumer pricing. Shoppers buying honey from a grocery store make up 66% of purchases and have likely bought adulterated products at a similar price point to the truly all natural alternatives found at farmers markets or purchased directly from a beekeeper.

Honey is Teachings Us About Pollutants

Ensuring quality is also about testing honey for its chemical content, specifically agrochemicals that have been labeled as highly hazardous to humans; making honeybees a type of undercover agent. A tiny sampling of honey can tell scientists about how agricultural practices impact pollinators, but samples can also be tested for other substances found in the air, water and vegetation bees encounter.  

Tulane University is charting a new course for honey bee research and recently conducted the first toxic metal study using single sourced batches. While no single batch showed unsafe levels of toxic metals like cobalt, lead, arsenic or cadmium, the study was able to identify regions of the United States with higher levels of contamination.  

Tests of this nature are only just getting off the ground and require more in depth study if scientists hope to gain insight into air pollution, biodiversity and potential contamination of water and soil in a relatively small radius. But, it is believed that if pollutants are found in honey, odds are that traces of the same pollutants are in other food products grown in the area. The data collected could help pinpoint problems and create targeted solutions. 

Honey might be the great connector as it allows for chemistry, geology, botany and history to be analyzed side by side in a single teaspoon. What we learn from these studies, specifically in regards to human health, could shape the future of manufacturing and agricultural production. Already the Tulane study revealed pesticides, aircraft combustion, and mining as regional practices contributing to soil contamination in some states.

Scientists suspect that far more pollutants exist in the air, soil and water than we can find through testing honey samples. In fact, the bees themselves are also being researched for their decision-making skills. Where they choose, or choose not, to look for nectar can be an indicator of toxins. A study at the University of Sheffield aiming to understand how bees make foraging decisions hopes to use research findings in creating automated technology. Sensory technology that can access microscopic differences and fluctuations could have multi-industry impact. 

It seems we still have a lot to learn from our neighborhood insects. Whether they teach us how to make safe cars, help us fight off inflammation or uncover pollution problems, these undercover agents continue to play a vital role in our lives.