In my view, "straining" and "filtering" should be treated as two different things where honey is concerned. In recent years, there has been so much negativity written and spoken about filtering that I feel the small-scale producer should try to distance themselves from the reasons for it. I have little knowledge how commercially packed honey is "processed" and I guess that many who speak or write about it may not know much either. Whether they do or not, it is well publicised that honey is often "filtered" in several ways by packers for different reasons. We are told it removes minute particles, including pollen, which is suspended in natural honey. All of these processes always seem to be termed "filtering", not "straining", which I see as just removing the larger particles such as wax, propolis and bee parts that unavoidably get into honey when it is extracted. These can be removed by straining through a metal sieve or strainer cloth such as supplied by equipment suppliers. They are suitable for small-scale producers and the smaller scale commercial beekeepers. That is all I used, so I know they work.

Consumers prefer to believe what is in print and I believe the danger is they will assume that all honey is treated in the same way, but we need to argue strongly that honey produced and sold by small-scale producers has not had the pollen removed. I, therefore suggest small-scle beekeepers should always "strain" their honey, not "filter" it, which I believe will help retain consumer confidence in good, well produced and packed honey.

Roger Patterson.

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