There is new evidence that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may be a culprit in what is known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), or the disappearance of honeybees.

Colony Collapse Disorder has killed off more than one-third of the bees in the United States.

Beekeepers know that when there isn’t nectar readily available to their hives, as in the winter months, some turn to supplements. Traditionally it was (guess what) honey. But that’s what you want to harvest, so many turn to cheaper substitutions. Cane or beet sugar, mixed with water, was seen as acceptable as long as you removed the part of the comb containing the sugar once bees started producing again. It was important to keep the bees fed so they’d keep brooding and ready to produce honey.

Except it hasn’t only been the occasional sugar-water substitution. We’ve substituted the substitute. People have also turned to high fructose corn syrup.

And once again, it seems our need for convenience and affordability has cost us: a new study shows that a contaminant from heat-exposed HFCS may be killing off the bees.

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Long have pesticides taken most of the blame for colony collapse disorder. Another culprit has been certain mites, which occur naturally in Asia but that Western bees cannot fight so easily.

But seriously, Cate...high fructose corn syrup? Surely you’re pulling my antenna. Stay with me, here, guys.

Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a heat-formed contaminant and is the most noted toxin to honey bees.

HMF is not something that keepers can currently test for. Researchers are working to find a solution to this part of the “bee problem.”

But for right now, farmers and keepers end up…hoping?

Former FDA researcher Renee Dufault has tirelessly worked with me on the issues regarding high fructose corn syrup (with more topics to come), and I thank her!

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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