The land of Jordan is overflowing with production, and of this production is what is unique and rare, and honey is one of these rarities. However, many questions arise for every person who wants to buy this material, among them, is it original and guaranteed?, How do we distinguish between the adulterated and the original?, Who monitors the production?

Honey is not seen as a useful food, but there is medical scientific evidence that it has therapeutic properties and attributes that are unique to it from others. Therefore, beekeepers track the locations of flowers, strive to transfer beehives to them, and spend time and effort in order to obtain a luxurious and qualitative product that serves them in this way, the diverse nature of Jordan.

The Jordan News Agency visited the points of sale of honey in several shopping places, met the owners of bee farms, and verified the methods of honey production, and the mechanism for distinguishing between the original and the adulterated, to show that Jordan produces 19 types of honey, which is a great and important wealth.

And Petra met many parties in the production, sale and consumption of honey, who defined it as a sweet natural substance produced by a kind of bee from the nectar of plants or the secretions of living parts of the plant and collects and transforms it by mixing it with a few of its secretions, and then stores it in wax tablets until it matures .

They pointed out that the color of honey varies from almost colorless to dark brown, and its texture may be liquid, viscous, or partially or completely crystallized, and the taste and flavor of honey may vary according to the original plants that the bees feed on.

Honey is available in the market in different forms, such as pure bee honey, honey with wax discs, or honey with pieces of wax discs.

The prices of one kilogram of local honey vary, according to specialists, between 15-30 dinars, and the quality plays a role in that, and those who sell honey at low prices cannot be original, pointing out that the honey fraud methods used are primitive and easy to detect.

They indicated that maple honey is rare in Jordan because it contains the highest percentage of therapeutic compounds among all the honey compounds that were examined according to scientific research conducted on it. It is only available in some mountainous forest areas in Ajloun and Salt.

Estimates, official statistics, and unofficial numbers and estimates of the Jordanian Beekeepers Association vary according to their president, Dr. Muhammad Rababa’a. For example, official statistics indicate that there are approximately 1,400 beekeepers and 45,000 hives, while the union’s figures indicate that there are approximately 4,000 beekeepers who own about 70,000 hives, while the production of hives ranges from According to the seasons, from 200-300 tons annually officially, while the Syndicate confirms that this number is very modest because most beekeepers do not provide accurate real information for statistics.

He stressed that Jordan’s production of honey ranges between 700-800 tons, which raises the percentage of the bee sector’s contribution to local honey consumption to approximately 50-60 percent of the local production, calling for serious thinking to protect this sector in order to contribute to its self-sufficiency in order to achieve the desired food security.

He explained that the bee sector is not only a honey producer, but rather works to increase the production of all crops related to pollination, such as almond crops, fruits, melons, melons, squash, and others, stressing the importance of bees in preserving biodiversity, and here it should be noted that the role of bees in this aspect outweighs five times its economic value.

Al-Raba’a called for stopping the import of honey like olive oil in order to protect the local product, pointing out that the union has worked three years ago to establish a tracking system for honey that allows knowing the product, the type of honey and the region in which it was produced. Where identical honey is packaged in a licensed laboratory and a label is placed that is not subject to imitation or forgery so that the consumer can, upon purchase, scan the code using his mobile phone and inquire about the full information related to the product.

And he indicated that there are two main seasons in Jordan: the “spring” from the beginning of April until mid-May in the Ghor, Shafa and Jabal regions, and the summer harvest during the months of June and August, in addition to other sub-seasons.

In a related context, he pointed out that there is no relationship between the color and texture of honey and whether it is adulterated or not, in addition to the ineffectiveness of the common traditional methods in verifying its quality, denying the widespread belief among consumers that crystallized honey is adulterated honey because its crystallization phenomenon is considered one of the most important signs of its quality.

The media spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Lawrence Majali, told (Petra) that the ministry is working on developing sectors and crops that are imported from abroad, which are called deficit crops. Therefore, a number of measures are being taken to increase the production of these crops, including bee honey.

He pointed out that the ministry worked to grant loans and financing through agricultural lending without interest over the year 2022-2023 within the national plan for sustainable agriculture and support for agricultural projects with industrial impact, which amounted to 10 million dinars, such as fish farming, honey cultivation, and many of these crops that are imported from abroad. To work on being grown locally to reach self-sufficiency.

And he indicated that the ministry worked to put in place some special measures to protect the local product in a manner commensurate with the needs of the local market so that there is no dumping of imported products that leads to losses for farmers, and procedures for the gradual expansion of this agriculture over the coming years, while reducing imports to achieve self-sufficiency.

In the same context, the Director of Animal Production at the Ministry of Agriculture, Eng. Khalil Amr, stated that approximately 38,500 bee colonies were licensed in 2022, and in 2021 about 58,000 hives, and that part of this decrease in the number of hives, estimated at 20,000 hives, is due to procedures followed by the Ministry to control holdings. This is what made small farmers who do not receive the services of the Ministry of Agriculture, which is granted to those who own a hundred cells or more. Employment services, which is the subsidized agricultural work permit, in addition to the service of exemption from agricultural vehicle fees for fifty sects or more. Technical support and guidance through the Directorate of Animal Production, the Bee Department, in addition to logistical services.

He stressed that these procedures serve as a legislative ground that regulates the entry of bee products so that they do not harm local products, in addition to working to modernize the legislative system as much as possible to track cases of fraud, since the ministry’s jurisdiction applies to imports and not to the local product.

He pointed out that the local production of honey does not meet the needs 100 percent, and in good seasons, the production covers only 20 percent of the needs of the local market. It is suitable for local honey prices, which are high because the climate does not allow for high production rates.

He said that in order to ensure that honey is not adulterated, the ministry is committed to applying the provisions of the technical rule for honey 122/2007 on Jordan’s imports of bee products, as honey is subject to testing for pesticide residues and antibiotic residues, and is also subject to quality checks that measure levels of sugars in honey to indicate the age of honey or whether it has been subjected to treatments. heated or not.

For her part, Manal Khamaysa, Head of the Environment, Water and Food Laboratories Department at the Royal Scientific Society, said that in the Society’s laboratories, tests are conducted on bee honey for samples received by government institutions for monitoring these products or by companies or individuals who wish to ensure the quality of honey. and the safety of their products.

She pointed out that the tests that are conducted on bee honey are divided into three categories, honey quality tests such as sensory tests, acidity, humidity and the content of insoluble solids in water, and tests that detect adulteration of honey such as the content of sugars, including glucose, fructose, sucrose and examination Hydroxymethylfurfural content, and health tests for honey, including pesticide residues, veterinary drugs, microbiological tests, and heavy metals.

She pointed out that these examinations are carried out in our locally and regionally accredited laboratories and at the hands of specialized and scientifically qualified cadres, according to internationally approved examination methods.

In response to Petra’s inquiries, the Saudi Food and Drug Corporation clarified its role in controlling honey and its products traded in the local market, which is represented by field inspection and taking samples of honey and its products traded in the local market by the institution’s inspectors, and examining samples in the institution’s laboratories / food chemistry laboratory to ensure that they conform to the rule. Special technical honey in the field of multiple checks.

She indicated that these examinations include testing free acidity and examining total sugars, in addition to their role in approving packing and packaging lines for honey and its products, licensing trading or importing honey and its products that carry medical claims or misleading expressions, providing technical advice for statement cards related to honey and its products, and following up on complaints received by the institution regarding Honey and its products.