Honey monitoring

Monitoring Pollen, Wax and Honey

Honey is a natural product that is exposed to various environmental influences as it is produced. Should there be concerns that honey from the region surrounding Munich Airport might be polluted by the exhausts of aircraft engines? To answer that question, Munich Airport has been conducting continuous honey monitoring since 2008 in addition to its longtime biomonitoring program.
Different substances are released in various ways into the air by different emission sources. These substances could harm the bees or accumulate in pollen, wax or honey. Consequently, Munich Airport monitors pollen, wax and honey and also the vitality of the bees. Independent laboratories test for the presence and concentrations of 10 metals and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
The result: for the substances tested, honey, pollen and wax from around the airport are no more contaminated than those from a reference area far from the airport.

How do we produce our honey?

At a speed of around 20 km/h, a bee flies across its collection area of a two to three-kilometer radius around the airport about 40 to 60 times a day.
In the hive, excess water is removed from the enzyme-enriched nectar by the bees until it is finally stored as honey in the cells of the honeycomb.
The honey collected by the airport bees in the spring and summer is tested in independent laboratories for residues of pollutants.
The vitality analysis and laboratory tests show that the Munich Airport has no negative impact on pollen, wax or honey. On the contrary: the monitoring proves that the regional honey from around the airport is uncontaminated.
Airport honey is a natural product that is manufactured by the beekeepers using only traditional methods.