Scientists have made the world’s first bee-free honey in an attempt wipe out intensive honeybee farms and ensure a future supply of the product as the bee population declines.
Fooditive, an ingredient manufacturer based in the Netherlands, will begin large-scale trials of the product in the New Year.
The company uses a biotech process of inserting honey DNA into yeast, which then is fermented to replicate the process that occurs in bees’ stomachs.
The honey looks and tastes the same as regular honey, with the same health benefits.
Honey bees contribute directly to local food production and impact both crops and the wider environment.
The economic benefit of pollination to crop production in the UK is £600m each year, according to the Department of Rural Affairs.
But bees are cold-blooded, and rising temperatures due to global warming could negatively impact both them and their food sources.
Fooditive is trying to secure a future supply of honey through its biotech as the bee population continues to decrease.
They also hope to eliminate ‘intensive honeybee farms’ as common apicultural management practices can be detrimental to the bees, increasing the risk of diseases that can lead to colony collapse.
Fooditive founder and CEO Moayad Abushokhedim said: ‘Our goal is to provide the world’s first 100 per cent bee-free honey with no compromise on taste, quality or price.’
‘The process of genetic sequence modification used in our honey already has an established track record with our vegan casein.
‘We believe our process will be the stepping stone for a revolutionary advancement in the food and biotechnology industries, enabling any animal product to be mimicked and even improved.’
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