Athlone honey makers show local is lekker
ATHLONE family-owned business and apiary, Beelal Honey, has walked away with the top honour at the 2021 London International Honey Awards.
It was honoured with platinum, the highest award.
The business, run by 19-year-old UCT student Sana Khan, has hives on the West Coast, and the honey is collected from rare species of flowers from the Cape Floral Region.
Khan said the business had been conducting research for four years and started trading last year.
Eligible honey must pass extensive testing by an independent accredited laboratory. Tests include pollen spectrum for the floral and geographical source of honey, sugar profile to detect increasingly common adulteration, and tests for heat treatment or pasteurisation.
Honey entered in the London International Honey Awards are judged by a panel of experts in a blind tasting, and are scored from 0 to 100.
There are four awards – from bronze to platinum. Platinum is reserved for honey that scores from 95.5 to 100.
Khan said that as the eldest of four sisters she worked closely with their father, Bilal, whom the business is named after.
She said he travelled for business and brought home exotic honeys from the countries he visited.
Despite having tasted some of the best honey that international markets had to offer, there was no honey that was the same as local honey, Khan said.
“It was a joint family decision to take our passion to another level. We had always been passionate about good natural honey.
“Our father initiated the business. I used to help him and go on field trips with him during the research stage, and then I started handling … all the other background work of the business.
“I have been very passionate about bees and honey since a young age but I never would have thought that we would have won platinum.
“I think it is important to make as many people aware of the wonder that South African, more specifically fynbos, honey is, and how exhilarating it is to put South African honey on the map and rank next to other big honey names in the world,” Khan said.
The business aims to help educate the community to be more conscious about the quality of honey it is consuming, and that good honey is available in South Africa.
“With the growing demand for honey, and cheap, adulterated ‘honey’ filling the supply gap, it is important for us that people know that the honey they are consuming comes from an ethical brand, and also to support the local bee farmers and honey industry, and that has potential to grow into something bigger.”