Why honey does not have an expiration?

Have you ever asked yourself if honey has an expiration date?

honestly honey does not has an  expiration date
We all know that honey is a product of bee products and is produced inside the hive by the bees, and each bee has a role and task to work on, and the honey is completely edible, even after many years

In this article, we will talk about the main reason why honey does not has an expiration date

What is the secret that prevents honey from the expiration date?

First, let’s answer the question: When does the product have expiration?

The answer is when bacteria multiply in it

Recent tests have proven that honey is able to eliminate antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The results of many tests have shown that honey can play an important role in combating these bacteria. “The unique properties of honey lie in its ability to fight infection at different levels, which prevents these microorganisms from multiplying,” says Susan Mischwitz of Salvt Regina University, USA, who is supervising the research.

In order to better understand the matter, we will analyze the strategy of honey in fighting bacteria, which is divided into three sections:

First: the sugar itself

Honey is made up of 17% of water and the rest is all sugar, and the sugar itself is formed from two basic types, the sugar glucose and the sugar fructose.

Technically, honey in its entirety is a very saturated solution, which means that it contains too much sugar to decompose at a moderate temperature, and for this it seems that honey turns into crystal forms inside the bottle with the passage of a significant time of its presence in it, because the sugar inside it begins to Get out of the solution in search of water.

Water is known to move between cell membranes from the ocean with the highest concentration of water to the ocean with the lowest concentration, and bacteria by nature contain a greater water concentration than that in honey, which means that honey will literally absorb water from any bacteria or fungi trying to multiply in it. . In addition, honey does not contain enough water for any microorganisms to thrive in it, so they simply die, which is why honey does not spoil or rot.

Second: Through an enzyme called (glucose oxidase)

The bee secretes this enzyme when it is producing honey, an enzyme that we can say in simple language that bacteria hate because it produces two different compounds: it converts glucose into gluconic acid and oxygen peroxide.

Gluconic acid is an acid that gives honey a pH value of less than 4, which is a thousand times more acidic than the neutral acidity with a value of Ph 7 that most bacteria need to live and survive, while hydrogen peroxide is very good at killing cells, as it destroys the walls of bacteria cells causing it to crumble and decompose.

Third: antibiotics

Some types of honey contain a protein called Bee Defensin 1, whose primary role is to defend bees, as it forms part of their immune system and protects them against some types of bacteria, including those that may cause the spread of dangerous diseases within the hive.

This protein is produced inside the gland that the bee uses to make honey, so it is natural to find it as well in its product, and while scientists do not know the exact amount and percentage of this protein in honey, we are absolutely sure that the bee uses it to protect honey, which is its only food.

Next time you feel like you need to eat something sweet, we advise you to take honey, the archenemy of bacteria

About the Beekeeper

Wael Issam Sayam is a passionate hobbyist beekeeper, born and raised in Denmark, and the founder and manager of the "Bees Partners" platform and blog. Driven by a deep love for nature and inspired by meticulous Danish environmental standards, Wael shares his practical experiences and valuable tips to help fellow beekeeping enthusiasts around the world build sustainable and thriving bee colonies.