Ideas for improved Api-Management

To achieve the goal of exporting honey bee products into the EU, certain quality standards have to be achieved. The Strategic Intervention Plan, written by SNV/Ethiopia in 2005 listed approaches to increase the quality of honey bee products. It has to be mentioned, that those criteria are equally important for Ethiopia and Indonesia, as well as for every other non-EU-country.

1. The use of antibiotics as a preventive measure is forbidden. If the use is necessary, you have to follow the instructions exactly and remove all supers from the hive.
2. During honey flow periods, you should not feed supplementary sugar or sugar syrup.
3. Remove all frames, containing fermented honey, or moldy pollen.
4. To prevent tobacco taste and its tar residues, avoid the excessive use of a smoker while harvesting.
5. To avoid high moisture content, only harvest frames that are at least 70% sealed.
6. If necessary, use chemical repellents for harvesting carefully.
7. Supplement food should be positioned on an upturned hive cover instead of putting it on the ground.
8. The honey extraction should take place in room that is protected from external moisture and honey bees.
9. To avoid the rotting of the hive, all component parts (floor, walls partitions) should have a waterproofed surface.
10. Do not heat honey above 40.6 °C to avoid the production of HMF.
11. Machines and containers have to be sealed with food-quality paint, or contain of stainless steel or food-quality plastic.
12. Do not smoke during the honey extraction.
13. To remove big pieces of wax, filter the honey after extracting process.
14. Do not store honey in rooms with high temperature, nor at places exposed to the sun.
15. To avoid the re-uptake of external moisture, be sure to properly seal/shut honey containers.
16. Do not collect pollen during honey harvesting season.
17. Working with food and non-food products requires separate steps.
18. If hives are placed in a "honey house", do not clean it, until all honey has been stored in airtight containers.
19. Chemical products (detergents, glue for labels, medicine, insecticides, herbicides, ...) have to be stored separately from the extraction room.
20. Do not use used oil barrels (even when waxed).