Five longan honey brands from Hsinchu County were deemed “outstanding” and 21 won first place as judges conducted the county’s annual evaluations on Friday last week.
Lin Chi-shui (林祺水), Lung Jen-piao (龍仁標), Huang Wei-chou (黃唯洲) and Chang Teng-ping (張登平) from the First Beekeeping Production and Marketing Group in Hsinchu County, and Su Hua-ting (蘇樺婷) from the First Beekeeping Production and Marketing Group in Hsinchu County’s Cyonglin Township (芎林) received Outstanding awards.
After two rounds of evaluations were completed, the results were posted online, Hsinchu County Farmers’ Association secretary-general Lee Hsiao-hua (李筱華) said.
Photo: Huang Mei-chu, Taipei Times
The first evaluation inspected the general quality of the honey entries based on Taiwan’s CNS1305 honey standard, as well as inspections for 11 antibiotic residues and inspections for 383 pesticide residues.
All 31 entries passed the first evaluation, but five entries were eliminated during the second evaluation, which was carried out by judges based on color, smell and flavor.
Only members of the Hsinchu County beekeeping production and marketing groups with products traceable by QR code could submit entries for evaluation, Lee said.
There are 64 members in the four beekeeping production and marketing groups supported by Hsinchu County Farmers’ Association, she said.
The beekeepers maintain 8,212 boxes of beehives, she said, adding that they mainly produce longan honey, lychee honey and wildflower honey, which are usually harvested in April and May.
About 493,000kg of honey are harvested annually, which generates NT$79 million (US$2.69 million) in annual output value, she added.
To support the local beekeeping industry, the Agriculture and Food Agency has made bee products traceable by QR code and allowed beekeepers to apply for a nationwide Taiwan Good Agricultural Practice certificate.
Five beekeepers in Hsinchu County have been approved for the certificate.
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