By: Andrew Byers
This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2017 issue of BEEKeeping Your First Three Years
Can you answer the question: Is your hive food grade?
As beekeepers, we concentrate great efforts on caring for our hives and supporting the health of our bees. With this as our focus, it is understandable that we sometimes need reminding there are other important aspects of beekeeping. As well as concentrating on husbandry, we need to remember that hives are also food containers and bees are food producers. Of course, we all take care when bottling and storing our actual honey and nobody would think of putting honey in anything in which it may be contaminated. But maybe we don’t always think of the hive as the beginning of this farm to table process.
So, as we are in the food production chain, we should ask ourselves is our hive food grade? Often our husbandry and equipment decisions are based on practicalities related to economics and labor extension. But as with all things, cheap and easy is not always the best solution. So instead of thinking what is quickest and least expensive, let’s go through a typical hive and consider what components fall into the category of food grade or alternatively, “Don’t eat that!”.
As a food container, wood is a natural product and acceptable for contact with honey. Historically we have used wooden dishes, spoons, cups and all manner of wooden utensils and food preparation surfaces. There is a movement back to using wood for food preparation and wooden cutting boards are promoted as a safe, natural alternative to plastic. Nothing about wood seems detrimental to our health or well-being and none fall into the “Don’t eat that!” category.
However, beekeepers are always looking for new and better alternatives and some of us are considering or actually using hives made of non-traditional materials. One emerging product is high density polystyrene hives and hive components. There is really nothing new about using polystyrene as food containers; try to buy chicken or beef without the little Styrofoam tray underneath! What does synthetic polymer do to bees and honey inside the hives is our question.
Consider that styrene and benzene are both harmful chemicals. Styrene is a suspected neurotoxin and benzene is a known carcinogen in humans and animals. The World Health Organization is working to educate the public on the negative health effects of benzene and puts forward guidelines on eliminating and reducing its use. Both of these are examples of toxins that may leach out of polystyrene.
In humans, the main route of possible contamination from these chemicals is via inhalation with subsequent accumulation in fat tissue. Anything which accumulates in fat, like styrene, is termed lipophilic or fat loving and therefore will accumulate in substances high in lipids like beeswax.
The ultimate effect of polystyrene on the bees and the honey has yet to be determined. There are obviously differences in interspecies metabolism and toxicity between us and bees. Also, any effect will be variable and dependent on factors such as length of exposure time and temperature of the polystyrene material. In this case the length of time is determined by the individual bee’s longevity as well as the ambient external and internal hive temperature, which we know can be high. The extent to which this leaching may affect honey or wax is also determined by the age of the polystyrene material as well as other environmental factors like those mentioned above. So no real answers at this point but certainly many questions!
Oh, by the way a polystyrene hive will last a long time, possibly 500 years before it completely breaks down! Pine on the other hand, will last 1% of that time, cedar slightly longer. As polystyrene decomposes it releases chemicals into the environment and a lot of the material becomes nanoparticles which inevitably end up in marine ecosystems. Nanoparticles from polystyrene are particularly harmful to aquatic animals. This is a separate factor beyond the food production aspects of beekeeping but an important consideration for Beekeepers.
Left to right – Photo 1: So what about styrene hives? Photo 2: Styrene boxes on the right, no paint at all in the middle, and, maybe the right color, but is it the right paint on the other end? Photo 3: No foundation… Photo 4: Is this plastic foundation food grade?
Users of polystyrene hives put forward advantages of better thermoregulation and there can be some monetary advantages to these types of hives. There is little published research on the biological effect of polystyrene hives on the bees. But one group of researchers from Turkey in 2004 suggest that wooden hives outperformed polystyrene when assessing overwintering colony survival, Winter population loss, brood area, number of frames of bees and low defensiveness. This limited amount of research is insufficient for making informed decisions but none the less thought provoking.
If wooden hives are used, then another consideration is how to treat the wood. Ask beekeepers what wood preservative they use and you will get a range of answers. Preferences seem to be from, whatever paint is on sale through natural oils to nothing at all. The general movement away from environmentally damaging oil based paints means that latex or water based paints are most available to beekeepers. One of the concerns with traditional oil paint is the release of VOCs or volatile organic compounds. These are compounds which easily become gasses and therefore are released from the original compound into the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency identified these as pollutants and presents a long list of possible human health effects. The EPA also suggests limiting exposures. But be aware that although latex paints are lower in VOC they are not necessarily VOC free.
If you are concerned about VOCs then look for paints that are labeled low or VOC free. But don’t assume these paints are nontoxic. Most paints contain substances that although not identified as VOCs, are toxic. For example, the banned carcinogen PCB can still be found in some paints. Researchers have found concentrations of this ubiquitous chemical pollutant in certain wood preservatives. Worryingly, it seems that one type or congener of PCB, PCB11, is being produced inadvertently as part of the pigment creating process.
PCB is certainly not something we want around our food, but the bad news is that, although banned for decades this carcinogen is found in measurable concentrations almost everywhere. This legacy is the result of the stability of the chemical which does not readily break down. It is thought that PCB, once in our bodies remains there for up to 10 years. A cautionary tale for the use of industrial chemicals and an example of how our choices have longer term implications!
Another chemical component of paint, 2-Butoxyethanol (2-BE), is perplexing for beekeepers or anyone involved in food production. This compound is considered a hazardous substance in some regions of the U.S. and the New Jersey Department of Health considers it a carcinogen. In Canada 2-BE is on the list of toxic substances due to it being harmful to human health. But perhaps of greater concern is that 2-BE is an excellent insecticide according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information! These facts seemingly conflict with this substance being approved for use in food processing. Surprisingly, 2-BE is used as a solvent to clean fruit as well as in food preparation. In addition to this, the USFDA has approved 2-BE as a direct food additive! These seemingly contradictory recommendations makes it difficult to categorize this as “Don’t eat that!” but common sense would suggest caution.
Other options available for wood preservation are natural oil products. Many of these are also food products which will reassure us against the test of “Don’t eat that!”. Linseed oil is a well know wood preservative but is also, when labeled as flaxseed oil, a food product. Other increasingly popular wood preservatives are hemp oil, neem oil and Tung oil. None of these are new but rather rediscovered traditional products. Their renewed popularity being due to increased environmental awareness.
But if you are thinking these oils are all natural then check because some have chemical drying and hardening agents. This may mean that from a health view point they are no better than traditional paints and perhaps in some respects worse than VOC free paints. So look for labels which state pure or raw, single ingredient oils. For example, boiled linseed oil has chemical additives, usually metals, to aid drying but raw linseed oil will not have these additives.
Another hive component which comes in contact with wax and honey is foundation. Most beekeepers have switched to plastic as the easiest, cheapest and most practical option. Many manufacturers and suppliers state that their foundation is made of food grade plastic but what does this actually mean? If you look in your kitchen, food grade plastic will be labeled with a fork and cup symbol. Foundation has no such labeling but most manufacturers will be able tell you if their products are food grade.
Personally, I would avoid any plastic foundation or other plastic hive components that are not food grade. This plastic is manufactured to a higher standard and more chemically stable. Manufacturing should be done in an ISO 9000 certified facility to ensure that the products meet the International Organization for Standardization quality and consistency specifications.
If you look closely at the white buckets that many ofus use for storage of honey on the bottom will be a number two in a triangle. This is the international recycling symbol and the number two means the material is high density polyethylene (HDPE).
So are white plastic buckets ok?
This is a food grade plastic which is suitable for contact with honey. But not all these symbols and numbers necessarily mean the products are food grade or recyclable locally. The label, food grade, means different things for different plastics. Some plastic such as number 1, polyethylene terephthalate or PETE, is often used for drink bottles and not recommended for reuse. Plastics labeled with numbers three, six and seven are not good for food storage.
So not all plastic is food grade and not all food grades are for all uses. Which plastic is best and most stable when placed in a hive has not been studied and information on the specific type of plastic used to manufacture foundation is not readily available. These factors combined make informed decisions difficult.
Also, it should be considered that plastic already accounts for up to 90% of the material in landfills and the oceans are literally awash with plastic debris. These are matters beyond food production in the hive but none the less as beekeepers we have a responsibility to environmentally friendly practices.
Honey, along with other hive products end up as consumables. Pollen is used as a dietary supplement, wax is burned in candles and placed in personal care products, propolis can be used for its medicinal properties. Economic and other practicalities of beekeeping often dictate our choices. We are all responsible food producers and environmental champions, otherwise why would we become beekeepers. The reality is we can’t keep bees in wicker baskets preserved by cow dung like the traditional beekeepers of old. But nor can we ignore completely the impact of our choices on the quality of the honey and other food products we are producing.
There are other aspects of the hive which are not fully considered here. I have had many discussions with beekeepers about the pros and cons of glue to hold hive bodies and frames together. Composite materials like plywood and fiber board may release formaldehyde. But the message is the same! We all know that we don’t need any more chemicals, petroleum products and plastics in the environment. Our customers trust us to provide a natural and healthy product. Along with this, they are asking more questions about our practices and processes. We must make informed pragmatic decisions about our hives and their components. Perhaps when selecting hive materials, we just need to ask would I tell my children, “Yes, you can eat that!”.
