French beekeepers alarmed over bees producing blue honey
Beekeepers in northeastern France have been alarmed to find their bees producing honey in unnatural shades of green and blue.
The beekeepers believe the source of the problem is a biogas plant close to Ribeauville in Alsace.
It is thought the bees have been eating the sugary waste from M&Ms…
“We discovered the problem at the same time [the beekeepers] did. We quickly put in place a procedure to stop it,” Philippe Meinrad, a spokesman from Agrivalor, the company operating the biogas plant…
The company, which deals with waste from a Mars chocolate factory, said it would clean out the containers, store all incoming waste in airtight containers and process it promptly, according to a company statement published in Le Monde newspaper…
A spokeswoman for the British Beekeepers’ Association, Gill Maclean, said it was possible that the coloured sugar could have contaminated the honey…
“Bees are clever enough to know where the best sources of sugar are, if there are no others available,” she said.
The beekeepers say their blue honey is unsellable. Boy, are they wrong. Advertise it on the Web and crazy people like me would buy it. Use it for topping vanilla ice cream or some silly cupcake. Probably could sell the entire inventory to some breakfast chain.
Holler at your Congress-critter to support Bernie Sanders' bill to 
I can just imagine the conversation, “Dear, how about some nice tea with honey – you look a little “blue” today.”
billduff
October 6, 2012 at 10:18 am
Snork! Was the blue pigment hazardous?
This reminds me of a tale in which bees were making bright red honey until somebody realised the hives were near a hair-dye factory.
argylesock
October 6, 2012 at 10:23 am
Don’t know what Mars is using over there; but, it’s thought to be pretty crappy this side of the pond. It’s probably concentrated as well made into honey.
eideard
October 6, 2012 at 10:33 am