The Beekeeping as an Alternative to the Unemployment And a Steady Base for a Sustainable Development in the

Bulgarian-Serbian Cross-Border Region

Bulgaria – Serbia IPA Cross-border Programme,CCI Number 2007CB16IPO006

Project № 2007CB16IPO006-2011-2-96

The project is co-funded by EU trough the Bulgaria–Serbia IPA Cross-border Programme

GOOD MANUFACTURE PRACTICES

Nebojša Nedić, PhD, Assistant Professor; Miladin M. Ševarlić, PhD, Full Professor; Marija Nikolić, PhD, Assistant; Svetlana Aćić, B.Sc. in Biology,

Vladimir Spasojević, M.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering, ManagerNenad Ilić, PhD.; Zorica Vasiljević, PhD, Professor/Consultant, Biljana Radojević, B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering/Associate

1) Germany

6.069.000 40,60% 2) Italy

3.165.000 21,20% 3) Norway

1.634.000 10,95%4) FRY Macedonia

888.000 5,95% 5) Montenegro

796.000 5,33%6) France

626.000 7) Austria

415.000 8) Bosnia and Herzegovina

408.000 9) Holland

379.00010) Switzerland

110.000 11) Croatia

104.000 12 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

96.000 13) Russian Federation

85.000 14) USA

64.000 15) Iraqi

20.000 16) Slovakia

18.000 17) Sweden

17.000 18) Great Britain

14.000 19) United Arab Emirates

13.000 20) Canada

4.000 21) Australia

1.000

Tab. 1. Export of honey from Serbia in 2013: 2967 t

(info site of SPOS, Economy Chamber of Serbia)

Country importer Value,$ share, %

Grahp. 1. Honey production in the world in 2011 (1000 t), source: FAO

• Serbian Association of the Beekeeping Organizations (SABO) within the IPA Program of European Union for Serbia and in cooperation with - Austrian Development Agency - ADA) in the Project “Honey River” (“Reka meda”) published the text book for beekeepers “Good Manufacture Practices which should contribute to the better quality of bee products.

• Within the same program the Serbian Association of the Beekeeping Organizations managed to protect the selected unique pot in the Intellectual Property Institute which is designed for the honey of the SABO members.• The pot will be exclusively used to be filled in with the Serbian honey, i.e. the honey collected in the territory of the Republic of Serbia.

• The quality of the honey shall be confirmed by the representative methods of analysis in the accredited laboratory.

The quote from the Preface:

“Good manufacture practices is a set of measures and procedures applied by the beekeeper in order to guarantee the health soundness and full product safety for the market, parallel with providing adequate conditions for humane bee care with the application of apitechnical methods preventing development and spreading of bee diseases to the greatest extent, since the healthy and vital bees are the basis for the successful beekeeping production. In that manner, the beekeeper achieves advantage on the market since he places the product which is now under control during the whole production process”

For the Executive Board of Serbian Association of the Beekeeping Organizations

President of SPOS Med. Doctor. Rodoljub Živadinović

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection stated its opinion on this textbook – Veterinary Management Department (excerpt):

“Veterinary Management welcomes and supports the decision of SABO to adopt “Good Manufacture Practices” and thus promote the establishment of constant tracking of beekeeping production as well as the application of good manufacturing and appropriate hygienic practice of beekeepers and thus strengthen the confidence between the honey producers and end buyers, both in the country and abroad”.

Honey (and other bee products) – connection with nature and ecology

Honey (bee pollen) – healthy and safe food

Beekeeper – it presents for him the providing of the main or extra revenues

MANUFACTURER (BEEKEEPER) – RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRODUCTS

(LAW ON FOOD SAFETY)

Different risk for various bee products (honey, bee pollen, royal jelly...), different method of producing and keeping.

Good Manufacture Practices Good Manufacture Practices ((GMP) GMP) was applied for was applied for the first time in agriculture and food processing the first time in agriculture and food processing industry in the eighties in last centuryindustry in the eighties in last century. .

It defined the instructions of the minimum It defined the instructions of the minimum standards and conditions in the procedure of standards and conditions in the procedure of processing and keeping agricultural and food processing and keeping agricultural and food productsproducts. .

It is considered that it should be applied in all work It is considered that it should be applied in all work phases from supply of the raw materials to packing phases from supply of the raw materials to packing and declaration certifying and declaration certifying ((Jovišević Jovišević et alet al., 2005).., 2005).

From beekeeping point of viewFrom beekeeping point of view::

Good Manufacture Practices refers toGood Manufacture Practices refers to: lo: location of bee gardencation of bee garden, , equipment and tools equipment and tools managementmanagement, , hygiene and work safetyhygiene and work safety, , apitechnical measuresapitechnical measures, , bee feedingbee feeding,, health health protectionprotection, , premises for honey extractingpremises for honey extracting, , conditions of storing bee productsconditions of storing bee products. .

Bee gardens and honey harvest should be located out of zones of

potential contamination.

BEE GARDENS

Bee gardens should not be located in the place where air humidity is accumulated

i.e. the position should enable mild airflow (ventilation) and terrain

drainage.

Bee gardens should be raised from land and, by rule, slightly tilted forward in

order to prevent humidity keeping in the bee hive.

Application of corrective measure if necessary.

• Honey knife, equipment for inserting honey comb bases and top bar should be out of stainless material or the material which is not rusty, or out of material which enables their easy cleaning, washing and disinfection .

• Equipment and Tools

• Equipment

Bodies and frames of the hives should be clean from agencies which might be the source of contamination and if necessary disinfected (in case of purchasing already used equipment, after longer storage, after disease appearing, etc.). Similar procedures should be performed in case of other beekeeping equipment as well.

BEEKEEPERS

• Protective clothing includes: bee hat with net fabric and/or beekeeping suit (overalls or blouse) and protective booths (or shoes).

• In case of treating bees with organic acids, the protective clothing consists of rubber gloves, i.e. gloves of impermeable and nonsorbent material as well as protective glasses

Bee gardens should also provide the hygienic means for hand washing : clean water and neutral scent soap .

APITECHNICAL MEASURES• After the period of winter hibernation it is necessary to perform inspection of bee colonies and record the existing situation• Records are kept, as a rule, collectively, for all bee colonies in one form/place• One should pay attention to the quantity of bees (the number of streets), bee brood existence, queen bee existence (based on the bee brood and/or visually), estimation of the food reserves, health condition (symptoms and signs of disease), intervention concerning inspection (narrowing/increasing brood chamber, cleaning of bottoms, top dressing, extraordinary queen bee replacement, other notes) and similar.

• In the end of summer and at the beginning of autumn (period August- September) it is necessary to perform the inspection of the bee colonies. Taking that in consideration, after the last removing of honey supers and half-supers, it is necessary to perform so called “autumn” inspection of the bee colonies, which is the basis for further interventions and survival of bees during the winter.•Other kind of inspections during the year

• For the purpose of survival during the winter, i.e. adequate thermal insulation and rational winter life of bees, it is necessary that the honey comb be appropriate i.e. the honey comb out of which several bee generations have been bred. Neither dark (black), old honey comb, nor young, yellow honey comb (in which neither brood of bees has been bred) are of adequate quality for bees to spend winter. During the year regular replacement of honey comb.

• Rapine Prevention : keeping strong colonies in the bee garden, flight restriction, space limitation, bee colonies merging – if they are healthy, regular and extraordinary inspection of weaker colonies, regular bee queen replacement, placing landmark in the bee garden, avoiding long keeping of the frames in open space within bee garden during the inspection, especially during the period without grazing etc.

• In the territory of the Republic of Serbia it is not allowed to keep bees and trade with breeding stock of other kinds of bees except from Apis mellifera carnica.

• Good quality, young bee queens have better production results than older queens, they are more vital and provide winter survival of bee colonies.

• If the beekeeper buys bee queens, it is necessary to keep records.

MANAGING BEES AND NEW BEE COLONIES IN THE BEE GARDEN

• If the beekeeper brings new bee colony in the bee garden by purchasing swarm, it is necessary to keep records.

TOPDRESSING OF BEES

• It is not allowed to perform topdressing of bees during collection of extra honey in the honey area, i.e. in the presence of honey supers / half-supers.

• Time and quantity of adding food for bees should be such to enable:

1.that all the food quantity be used by bees before the intensive bee grazing i.e. before adding, honey supers/ half-supers, in order to eliminate the risk of storing food for bees in honey super space, and2.that the added quantity of liquid, easily perishable food (for example. simple sugar syrup which ferments fast) be used in the optimal term (48 hours).

• Topdressing of bees should be performed upon the inspection of bee colonies and in compliance with the existing situation.

• If the beekeeper topdresses bees with the bee food which he himself prepares it is necessary that all the used ingredients come from the reliable sources

COLLECTION AND TRANSPORT OF HONEY FRAMES

• For the purpose of avoiding high level of humidity in honey, which might later cause its fermentation and spoilage, it is necessary to collect only “mature” honey. The honey is “mature” when at least ¾ (around 75%) honey comb cells are capped at the honey frames, and when by light shaking of frame the small drops of honey do not drop down. Besides, extracting from the hive and collection of frames with honey should be performed during the steady and dry up weather.

• It is not allowed to collect frames with honey from the brood chamber area of the hive. During the collection of frames with honey it is necessary to control that there is no brood nest (to prevent killing bees and existence of larvae in honey after extracting). If the brood nest is present, such frames should be put back into the hive till the bees are bred.

• During the collection of honey frame it is not allowed to use repellents, due to the possibility of their contamination and destruction of natural characteristics of honey (flavour, scent, color etc.).

• Take care about the hygienic measures and measures for preserving honey quality.

PREMISES FOR EXTRACTION, STORAGE, PROCESSING AND PACKING OF HONEY AND OTHER BEE PRODUCTS

• The premises should not be in the location which present significant source of contamination and high risk for the safety of bee products, such as: close to highway, industrial plants, big animal farms, landfills, centers for storing and distribution of chemicals, etc.

• The premises should have smooth and undamaged walls and ceiling, light colors which enable easy detection of filthiness, out of material which enables easy maintenance.

• The premises should have smooth and undamaged floors designed from nonsorbent and waterproofed material which enable easy maintenance.

• In case of honey extracting in bee pavilions, the floor must be cleaned before extracting and cover with the adequate protective synthetic material which enables easy maintenance during the honey extraction.

• During the performance of beekeeping works in the Premises for extraction, storage, processing and packing of honey and other bee products, it is necessary for all present persons to apply the basic hygienic measures (smoking is prohibited, the food and drinks are allowed only at the place designed for that purposes, the use of alcoholic drinks and strong fragrances – perfumes, deodorants, etc, the hand washing is necessary after meals, after each toilet going and other kinds of breaks, the access is not allowed to the persons with open wounds, as well as persons with infective diseases who might be the source of disease, i.e. persons with the symptoms of such diseases – high temperature, vomiting, diarrhea, etc, the wearing of jewelry is also not allowed, the long, unbound hair, etc.).

• If the previous heating of honey is carried out during the packing (for the purpose of decrystallization or achieving more liquid consistency), it is necessary to control that the temperature should not be higher than 40°C, to prevent the impairing of honey quality. It is not allowed either to heat the honey by microwaves or to pasteurize the honey.

• It is necessary for beekeeper to

perform at least once in a year the

sampling and inspecting the quality

of honey in compliance the legally

prescribed quality criteria.

• In the case of exclusive honey

wholesale, when the buyer of the

honey performs sampling and

honey quality inspection, the

beekeeper is not obliged to perform

the quality control of honey at the

annual level.

• Pollen is collected by bees from the plants flower and carried in pollen baskets (corbicula) to the hive. Going through the pollen catcher, the pollen balls from pollen baskets drop into drawer of pollen catcher. • For the purpose of quality protection and hygienic quality of pollen, the drawers of the pollen catcher must be regularly emptied, the quantity of pollen collected per days must be collectively recorded, and the empty drawers must be cleaned.

• Royal jelly is produced by transplanting larvae into the wax foundation of queen cells. Royal jelly is extracted from the started queen cells 68 to 72 hours after the transplantation and must not originate from the capped queen cells or from the drone brood cells. •Spatula or vacuum pump with glass suction cup is used for extracting royal jelly. •All the equipment which is used for production and extraction of royal jelly must be clean before the usage. • Records are kept on the production of royal jelly, and certain records are preserved.

•Propolis Collection can be performed in several ways :

- by adding the nets into the hive which must be of adequate materials which do not affect quality or health safety of propolis,

- by catcher made of thin strip of wood

- by scraping from the parts of hives and frames while scrapped propolis must not contain wood splinters

- Propolis must not be collected from the areas which have previously been treated by means which might endanger product health safety.

P. Patrice du Sert

The prevention should be actively performed in bee garden, the adequate locations should be chosen for setting the bee garden, apitechnical requirements should be applied which will provide normal development of bee colony and good bee products yield.

The process of honey centrifugation and extraction and other bee products. All the bee products should be kept in adequate premises and conditions, in the packaging which cannot be harmful to the quality of bee products

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union throughthe Cross-Border Programme CCI No 2007CB16IPO006. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Beekeepers Association “Kovanluk” and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union or the Managing Authority of the Programme

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

The project is co-funded by EU trough the Bulgaria–Serbia IPA Cross-border Programme