Local Honey from New Jersey

Tassot Apiaries, Inc., a family-run business located in Hunterdon County, manages bee hives on many parcels of land throughout New Jersey. We specialize in raw, chemical free, high quality honey and bee products, and while not certified organic, our honey is comparable. Our long-lasting, pure beeswax candles have the delicious light aroma of honey and  our handcrafted, natural soaps are offered in various natural fragrances. Our products are sold at our honey bee farm and several farmers’ markets. They are also available through a network of retailers. Tassot Apiaries also produces a prize winning honey is which is locally harvested, raw, unfiltered, and unheated.

 

Why is "Local" important when it comes to honey?

   One of our neighbors considers our honey "local" and another thinks that the honey sold at the local farm stand or even a nearby supermarket is as local as ours. However, the presence of the farmer's name on the label is not assurance that the honey is indeed from the locale where it is bought or jarred. This is because wholesale companies import large quantities of cheap honey and do not hesitate to  customize the label with their clients’ farm name on the jar. Consequently, consumers may unwittingly purchase honey from China, Argentina, or  other places far from where they live and sometimes purchase honey produced by bees that have been sustained with a diet of corn syrup.  Furthermore, the honey is often filtered and heated to sustain a greater shelf life as evidenced by the lack of crystallization.

This is problematic for several reasons. First, such honey lacks the natural local pollen which helps one's immune system cope with locally-induced allergies. When one purchases honey that is procured from afar, one jeopardizes the quality of honey and an opportunity to enjoy a better health.

Second, purchasing imported honey has considerable implications for local agriculture. Many crops such as blueberries, alfalfa, apples and pumpkins  depend on bees for pollination. Bees are also indirectly responsible for supporting both the meat and the dairy industries.  Ultimately,  honeybees and the beekeepers who keep them alive are critical to the production of nearly one-third of this nation’s food supply.

          In light of this, we argue that local bee keepers need to be supported. The local beekeeper community is very small, tight-knit, and keenly aware of the amount of effort that is required for colony health and honey extraction. Beekeepers, in addition to regular colony maintenance and honey harvesting, must deal with diseases and pests such as Varroa and Trachea mites, and Colony Collapse Disorder which kill the bees, not to mention foraging bears which can destroy an entire bee yard in one night.  In light of our respect for these efforts, we not to try to sell our product to a farmer already supplied by one of our community members. For all these reasons, we believe that purchasing truly local honey is important for maintaining personal health, a strong local agriculture, and an investment in your community.

   

Support our environment, support your local beekeepers, buy local honey with real beekeepers’ name on the bottles.