Is it nonsense to rinse honey jars before disposing of them in the glass container? Unfortunately, no. But not because the sweet remains attract insects or animals but because of a bee epidemic.
To protect local bees, rinse empty honey jars before throwing them in the bottle bank. That’s because about 75 percent of honey that originates from “EU and non-EU countries,” according to the label, is infected with the American foulbrood pathogen spores.
Although these pathogens are harmless to humans, the highly contagious bee disease kills the bee larvae and thus endangers an entire colony. Especially in times when there is not much food available for bees in nature, there is a danger that the animals get honey leftovers from jars in the bottle bank. This can be fatal for a bee colony, points out Sabine Hülsmann of the consumer advice center.
Antibiotics do not help.
The high contamination of foreign honey with foulbrood pathogens is a consequence of treating bees with antibiotics. The method is banned in Germany but permitted in many non-EU countries. The problem is that while these agents combat the bees’ signs of disease, the highly contagious spores remain in the honey.
source: k.at/picture:
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