T Kaiza-Boshe
Member
- May 27, 2013
- 20
- 39
HOW CAN ONE DISTINGUISH RAW HONEY FROM BOILED HONEY?
When buying honey it is very important to distinguish raw from boiled honey because of the difference in nutritional and medicinal values.
However, for a lot of us, this is a very difficult exercise. Consequently, quite often we rely on what the seller says. Obviously, this is not the best way to get assurance on quality of such an important food product.
However, some Maasai in Longido, Arusha, have come up with a solution; an aid, so to speak. This involves packing honey with dead bees. The idea being to show that the honey in that particular container has not been boiled.
Unfortunately, though, for people seeing dead bees in honey for the first time, and without the benefit of prior explanation, it simply gives a bad impression. It just looks like poor hygiene and unsafe for human consumption (even though by its nature, honey is highly unlikely to be contaminated), and therefore detracts from the seller's good intention.
It's worse when the scum at the top of honey turns out to be inscrutable pieces of black material (debris) that do not look like bees, nor any identifiable parts of bees. That's what happened to me last week.
Bearing in mind what unscrupulous business people can do, I decided to return the honey to the lady where I had bought it in exchange for cleaner honey.
This, and other similar incidents, made me wonder what the relative roles of relevant officers and authorities are in assuring food quality and safety to the consumer.
The officers and authorities include the Business/Trade Officers, Health Officers, the Standards Officers concerned with food at the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), as well as those at the national Ministry of Health.
I also wondered about the appropriateness and effectiveness of the current respective institutional framework in ensuring food quality and safety. Something seems to be amiss and in need of redress.
In view of the above incident, and other similar observations, I would like to suggest that the Government conducts a review of the legal and institutional framework concerning food quality and security with the aim of aligning legal framework with compliance, improving institutional efficiency and coordination, as well as improving product surveillance activities.
By:
Theonestina Kaiza-Boshe
Email address: tkaiza@gmail.com
When buying honey it is very important to distinguish raw from boiled honey because of the difference in nutritional and medicinal values.
However, for a lot of us, this is a very difficult exercise. Consequently, quite often we rely on what the seller says. Obviously, this is not the best way to get assurance on quality of such an important food product.
However, some Maasai in Longido, Arusha, have come up with a solution; an aid, so to speak. This involves packing honey with dead bees. The idea being to show that the honey in that particular container has not been boiled.
Unfortunately, though, for people seeing dead bees in honey for the first time, and without the benefit of prior explanation, it simply gives a bad impression. It just looks like poor hygiene and unsafe for human consumption (even though by its nature, honey is highly unlikely to be contaminated), and therefore detracts from the seller's good intention.
It's worse when the scum at the top of honey turns out to be inscrutable pieces of black material (debris) that do not look like bees, nor any identifiable parts of bees. That's what happened to me last week.
Bearing in mind what unscrupulous business people can do, I decided to return the honey to the lady where I had bought it in exchange for cleaner honey.
This, and other similar incidents, made me wonder what the relative roles of relevant officers and authorities are in assuring food quality and safety to the consumer.
The officers and authorities include the Business/Trade Officers, Health Officers, the Standards Officers concerned with food at the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), as well as those at the national Ministry of Health.
I also wondered about the appropriateness and effectiveness of the current respective institutional framework in ensuring food quality and safety. Something seems to be amiss and in need of redress.
In view of the above incident, and other similar observations, I would like to suggest that the Government conducts a review of the legal and institutional framework concerning food quality and security with the aim of aligning legal framework with compliance, improving institutional efficiency and coordination, as well as improving product surveillance activities.
By:
Theonestina Kaiza-Boshe
Email address: tkaiza@gmail.com