A black honey produced in Tokyo's Ogasawara Islands, which are registered as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, was recently found by researchers to be honeydew honey, a rarity in Japan.

Honeydew honey is produced by honeybees collecting not floral nectar, but the sugar secretions of other sap-sucking insects, such as aphids.

Beekeepers on the islands and other groups plan to conduct public relations activities by promoting the honey as a local speciality.

Honeydew honey, the colour of which is black or brown, is characterized by its fruity sweetness.

It is quite popular in European countries. The food standards drawn up by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), an international organization, categorize honey into two types: honey produced from floral nectar and honeydew honey.

However, the Japan Honey Fair Trade Council, a business organization for the trading of honey products, has no standards for honeydew honey.

Although there are some such imported products, they are little known.

It had not been known why the honey produced on the Ogasawara Islands has a special colour and taste.  But researchers including Hidehiro Hoshiba, a former professor of apology at Tamagawa University, noticed that the honey from the islands looked similar to honeydew honey.

Earlier this month, Hoshiba and other researchers asked the Japan Confectionery and Innovative Food Ingredients Research Center to examine whether the Ogasawara honey met certain criteria, such as mineral content set by the international standards -- and it does.

The managing director of the Japan Honey Fair Trade Council said, "I had never heard of any honeydew honey being produced in Japan."

Hoshiba said: "The combination of the islands, which are a treasure house of indigenous species and have a singular ecosystem, and the honeydew honey is interesting, and will draw attention internationally. We hope it is protected and nurtured as a local resource."

Honeydew honey

Honeydew honey is produced by honeybees collecting nectar that sap-sucking insects, such as aphids and scale insects, have secreted onto leaves. It contains more minerals than ordinary honey. Countries such as Germany and Bulgaria are well-known for producing honeydew honey.

Copyright: The Japan News/ Asia News Network