Why I was FORCED to increase honey prices!

Why I was FORCED to increase honey prices!

Recently I was forced to increase honey prices by 25%. Watch the video below to learn why.

FEATURED in North Scottsdale Lifestyle Magazine

FEATURED in North Scottsdale Lifestyle Magazine


FEATURED: The People’s Chemist talks with Mark about the shocking truth behind Antibiotics and Heavy Metals in Your Honey!


organic-honey-618x348Honey was mankind’s first sweetener. Valued for its sweetness and nutritional value, it actually serves as Mother Nature’s antidote to allergies.  And when it’s taken straight from the hive, it doesn’t spike insulin, blood sugar or triglycerides, making it a welcome alternative to processed sugar and artificial flavors.

But you’ll rarely find true honey in the store…

I’ve never spoken on the benefits of honey, because finding the real stuff is nearly impossible.  Get wanna-be honey from the store or local farmers market and you might as well be shamelessly guzzling sodas.

Recent testing done by Food Safety News revealed that 76% of honey sold in stores in the U.S. isn’t real honey but rather, a pseudo-honey product loaded with syrups and sugars and void of immune-boosting pollen. Worse, many honey-like products are contaminated with antibiotics and heavy metals.

Fortunately, there’s hope.

As the chemist in the family, I’m in charge of my 1 year old’s nightly bottle.  My secret, can’t-refuse-nutrition-rich recipe is a drop of honey, raw milk and egg with all-natural whey.  Skyler impatiently pulls at my leg every night at 7:39, while I prepare it.

Of course, I never give him store bought honey, which would only guarantee a toxic addiction to sugar.  Seeking out a truly natural honey, loaded with pollen and assorted minerals, I found Arizona Honey Market.  (

Mark Fratu is the beekeeper. 

He graciously took time out of his hectic schedule to answer a few questions for TPC fans. 

In the following interview, Mark discusses how most honey products have been butchered of their original essence and are completely worthless, nutritionally. He keeps European and Africanized killer bees to produce pollen-rich, true honey.

You can taste and feel the difference.  You’ll also see the price difference.  But, since you don’t need to use nearly as much for the desired effect, it lasts longer than the impostors you find at the store.

In this interview, it was great to hear Mark speak on pesticides and insecticides causing colony collapse.  We don’t need a panel of dorky scientists or a governing body trying to decipher why bees are dying…Enter Blair, my 9 year old.

“Bees are insects.  Farmers are using insecticides.  Insecticides kill bees. What’s the question?”

Order your true honey at

My favorite product is the Allergy Pollen Mix.

How long does it take for a bee to make honey?

Beekeeper: Most people have no idea how hard bees work to produce just a little bit of honey. A worker bee produces about one tenth of a teaspoon in her entire life, which is only 45 days.  And it’s getting even harder for them due to chemical pollutants, excess soy and corn in the environment.

In the last 20 years the country changed completely — basically to a monoculture of soy and corn, which bees do not pollinate. Because of that, beekeepers have to constantly feed bees with all kinds of products (corn syrup, fructose, etc.) in order to produce honey for the consumer. This obviously creates a vastly inferior honey than what Mother Nature intended.

To make matters worse, the pesticide industry is putting a lot of stress on bees, and as you probably know, colony collapse exists all over the place. But beekeepers are at fault themselves, too, because they’re all using too many medications, insecticides and antibiotics than are necessary, in my opinion.

For people who don’t know about the importance of pollen, how do you explain it to them?

Beekeeper:  Pollen is the superfood of the world. It contains almost every mineral and vitamin (all the B complex vitamins, including B12) that exist today in their natural forms.

Bees use pollen as food for larvae.  As they bounce around from plant to plant, they pollinate, causing plant growth.  Without the bees, all the vegetable and fruit trees would be a disaster. 

And if your honey is lacking it, then you miss out on all the health benefits, too.

[TPC Note: Pollen is an irritant to most people.  But Ingesting small amounts of it can bolster immunity and ward off allergies.  This phenomenon is biology is known as hormesis.  I wrote about  in The Stop Eating So F@#$ing Much Diet.

My research uncovered a long history of immunity and hormonal manipulations courtesy of hormesis, which are counter to medicine. Instead of soothing a problem, you basically add small amounts of stress to it.  This activates the body’s own defenses, when done right. 

Ultimately, things like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and seasonal allergies have been reversed by hormesis.  Using pollen from honey is similar.  By exposing yourself to small amounts of the allergens, you reprogram your immune system to protect you, which is why your honey needs pollen.  Learn more about natural allergy treatments]

Why is it important to have pollen in honey?

Beekeeper:  Mainly because of the nutritional value that it imparts to the immune system.  Small exposure helps teach the body how to stay healthy.

What do you feed your bees?

Beekeeper:  I don’t feed my bees or medicate them with anything. (Nada, nothing.) I’m working with Africanized killer bees the way God intended to be — without chemicals, soy and corn. I have the most exotic honey you could ever taste in your life. Because of that, it’s very expensive, but always worth it.  It’s satisfying, sweet and healthy.  Hard to put a price on that.

Why do some honey companies feed their bees sugar, corn syrup, and other byproducts? What is the result of this?

Beekeeper:  As I mentioned previously, in the last 20 years we’ve destroyed the environment. Most of the Midwest is now only monoculture corn and soybean — which bees do not pollinate. They need a lot of flowers and trees in order to produce honey.

Plus, beehives cannot be moved that easily to where the flowers are. Bees only travel 3 to 6 miles from the hive, and they need a lot of flowers to produce honey. Therefore, it’s much easier to feed them with byproducts than to move them, and if there are no flowers or trees you have no choice but to feed them byproducts to produce honey.

Over 75% of honey sold in stores in the U.S. isn’t real honey. Rather, it’s pseudo-honey loaded with syrups and sugars. How can these companies blatantly lie to consumers?


Aren’t there laws in place to prevent companies from selling fake honey?

Beekeeper:  No, there are no laws about that, and the FDA doesn’t enforce labeling to include what the honey is made from — whether it’s made from corn syrup or other byproducts.

Please explain why some honey companies have antibiotics in their honey products.

Beekeeper:  Almost 99% of beekeepers out there are medicating bees with antibiotic treatments for Varroa mites and fumigation, because this is the way it’s been taught from generation to generation — that you have to medicate bees in order to keep them healthy.

I don’t use any medications — absolutely none — and I have no problem with my bees.

Should consumers automatically trust a honey product just because it’s labeled as “organic” or “raw”?

Beekeeper:  No. The consumer has no choice but to believe the label on the honey, because all honey from the supermarket you buy these days has not been sold by beekeepers, but are packaged by a huge company. They don’t care about anything except making money.

In your expert opinion, what is the definition of “pure honey”?

Beekeeper:  Most of the time, if you read the label “pure honey” means the honey has been processed or pasteurized (cooked).

Is it true that real honey can cure allergies? How is this possible?

Beekeeper:  Yes and no. If the honey is real from the flower and not made by other products, it does help people with allergies. The only problem is it takes 5 to 8 months to build your immune system, because bee pollen and regular honey is only 5%. I have a special formula of honey that is an infusion of pollen, propolis, and special ingredients, and if you take a teaspoon every day, your allergies will be gone. During the first two weeks, we have over 98% success rate.

How can the average consumer be sure the honey they’re buying is real?

Beekeeper:  Well, most consumers are looking for cheap honey, not high-quality honey. You have to do a lot of research in order to find high-quality honey from people like me. Even the beekeepers are not 100% truthful and honest in telling people whether their honey is real or not. I’m selling honey in the farmer’s market with other wholesalers, and yet a lot of consumers go buy cheap honey from the others rather than honey from me.

How is your company, Arizona Honey Market, different from the average honey company?

Beekeeper:  I don’t even know where to begin…Most of my bees are Africanized killer bees which, I believe produce better honey – in taste and health benefits. I don’t medicate my bees, and I don’t feed my bees anything.  They eat what nature intended. 

I received the best and most honorable award in the state of Arizona for my honey and beekeeping.  That’s because all other honey sellers are simply “wholesalers.”  You see them at the farmers markets.  They aren’t the beekeepers and they have no idea what they are selling – pollen free, processed honey that may contain antibiotics, high-fructose corn syrup and more…

The only reason it sells is because it’s cheap. It’s very frustrating.  But once people try my honey from, they never go back to the cheap, fake stuff.  It’s life changing.


About the Author

Shane Ellison


Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey

Ultra-filtering Removes Pollen, Hides Honey Origins



























Why Remove the Pollen?
















What’s Wrong With Chinese Honey?





Mostly, the adulteration went undetected. Sometimes FDA caught it.









FDA’s Lack of Action










You’ll Never Know



Who actually bottled these store brands is often a mystery.











Pollen? Who Cares?













FDA Ignores Pleas

















Article Source:

The Critters Are in Trouble

The Critters Are in Trouble


Foodies West – Chef’s Larder April 2014


[WATCH] Why bees are disappearing

[WATCH] Why bees are disappearing

TasteMakers 100 – Mark Fratu #44

TasteMakers 100 – Mark Fratu #44

From now ’til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers — Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you’ll know; for others, it’ll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you’re here, check out our 100 Creatives on Jackalope Ranch. 

Today: A man you’d never accuse of being a buzzkill.

Tastemaker 44: Mark Fratu

See also: Most Honey in the U.S. Isn’t Honey at All, Food Safety News Reports

Mark Fratu grew up in communist Transylvania.  He ended up in Chicago with next to nothing — but he worked hard, saved his money, and eventually moved to Arizona, where he spun his meager fortunes into real estate investments. But the work left him empty and bored. So he went back to his roots. His dad was a beekeeper in Transylvania, and while the family business didn’t interest him as a child, he found himself drawn to it later in life. He started with a single hive in 2004, but it wasn’t until 2008, after he’d learned a great deal more about bees, that he transitioned to working with them full time. Now he keeps about 30 hives spread throughout Phoenix and sells his honey at farmers markets.

I arrived in Phoenix with… my wife.

If I was sitting down to dinner for six, my five dream dining companions would be… my wife, Jesus, David, Paul, Moses, and Solomon.

One place everyone who comes to Phoenix must eat is…. honey.

One menu item this city could do without is… hotdogs.

My last meal in Phoenix would be… bread and butter with honey.



Value of Bee Propolis, Honey and Royal Jelly

Value of Bee Propolis, Honey and Royal Jelly
When it comes to bee pollen, propolis, and royal jelly, people either seem to swear by them or swear at them.
Bee products epitomize everything that’s right and wrong about natural foods and dietary supplements. For a lot of people, the concept of eating “beestuff” – other than honey – seems awfully strange. And while bee products have a faithful following, few people really understand why they work. Scientifically,that is.
Not surprisingly, physicians usually bristle at the thought of people popping bee pollen and propolis capsules. One doctor, almost 20 years ago, warned in a medical journal that patients shouldn’t get “stung” by the miracle claims of bee pollen.
Even worse, advocates of bee products can often be their own worst enemies with wild cure-all claims of everything from arthritis to sexual impotence.Bee products don’t cure everything. But in a search of recent medical journal articles – most turned out to be from overseas – I found impressive documentation for propolis and honey as powerful, natural antibiotics. Amazingly, some doctors have even used honey-soaked gauze as wound dressings. And a few of the components of propolis and royal jelly even have anti-cancer properties.
As for allergies, bee pollen might help you the way it helped Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). But there’s a dearth of medical journal reports on pollen, except to point out that it can cause dermatitis or anaphylactic shock.


Bees create propolis by collecting a resinous sap from trees and then mixing it with wax back at the hive. They use this material much the way people use caulk: to seal their homes. Chemically, propolis is exceedingly complex and contains a rich variety of potent terpenes and benzoic, caffeic, cinnamic,and phenolic acids. It’s also high in flavonoids, which by themselves may account for many of the benefits attributed to propolis-and some researchers refer to propolis as a type of flavonoid.
Most medical articles, however, still point to the value of propolis as a powerful, natural antibiotic. That doesn’t mean eating propolis will let you throw away your antibiotics – only that you may not need them quite as often. Why would bees need substances with broad antibacterial and antiviral properties? Any beekeeper will tell you the answer. Bees are very susceptible to bacterial and viral infections, which can destroy hives the way the bubonic plague ravaged Europe in the 17th century.
In a Chinese study, researchers found that extracts of propolis – specifically, sinapic, isoferulic, and caffeic acids – inhibited the growth of S. aureus (Qiao Z, China Journal of Chinese Materi Medica, Aug. 1991;16:481-2). A European study reported that ethanol extracts from propolis had a “marked synergistic effect” on the anti-staph activity of two antibiotics, streptomycin and cloxacillin, and a moderate effect on several others (Krol W, Arzneimittel-Forschung, May 1993;43:607-9).
Another scientific investigation discovered that propolis inhibited the activity of several streptococcal bacteria species that cause dental caries.Japanese researchers reported that propolis-fed laboratory fats had far fewer caries than those given a regular diet. Propolis protected specifically against Streptococcus mutans and several other strep species (Ikeno K, Caries research, 1991;25:347-51). These strep species are closely related to the germ that causes strep throat. Propolis works against bacteria in several ways. One study reported that it prevented bacterial cell division and also broke down bacterial walls and cytoplasm, which is how some prescription antibiotics work (TakaisiKikuniNB, Planta Medica, June 1994;60:222-7).


Six medical journal articles over the past three years have also described the antibiotic properties of honey. A physician at the medical college in Maharashtra, India, recently explored the use of honey-soaked gauze to treat burn patients. The 40 patients treated with honey healed in about half the time – and with half the scar tissue – compared with patients treated by other means. (Subrahmanyam M, Burns, Aug. 1994;20:331-3).
A team of researchers from the department of surgery, University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria, reported that unprocessed honey “inhibited most of the fungi and bacteria” causing surgical and wound infections. In a remarkable conclusion in the journal Infection (Jul.- Aug. 1992;20:227-9),Dr. S. E. Efem and his colleagues wrote, “Honey is thus an ideal topical wound dressing agent in surgical infections, burns and wound infections.”
Perhaps most remarkable is the effect of honey on Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium now known to cause gastric ulcers. Because honey has long been a folk remedy for dyspepsia, or stomach upset, a team of researchers from the University of Waikato, New Zealand, tested whether honey would have any benefit. Within three days, honey stopped the growth of H. pylori colonies obtained from patients.

Royal Jelly

Highly touted royal jelly, fed to the debutante larvae that grow into queen bees, contains a powerful antibacterial protein that Japanese researchers discovered and named royalisin. Rich in amino acids, royalisin is primarily effective against “Gram-positive” bacteria, which include staph and strep species (Fujiwara S, Journal of Biological Chemistry, July 5,1990;265:11333-7).
Like propolis, royal jelly also appears to have anti-tumor properties. Another team of Japanese researchers gave royal jelly to one of two groups of laboratory mice before transplanting different types of cancer cells in them. The royal jelly had no effect on the leukemia cells, but it had dramatic effects on sarcoma cells. The lifespan of the mice was extended by about one-fifth and tumor sizes were about half the size, compared with untreated mice,according to a report in the journal Nippon Yakurigaku Zasshji-Folia Pharmacologica Japonica (Feb.
In sum, we could learn a lesson from bees that eat honey and royal jelly, and seal their hives with propolis. By eating these bee products, we can preventively “innoculate” ourselves against many bacterial and viral infections – and maybe even reduce our risk of developing cancer. So, in light of the scientific evidence, next time you hear someone ridicule bee propolis, royal jelly, and other products, just tell them to “buzz off.”
This article originally appeared in the Natural Foods Merchandiser, published by New Hope Communications. TheinformationprovidedbyJackChallemandTheNutritionReporter™ newsletterisstrictlyeducationaland not intended as medical advice. For diagnosis and treatment, consult your physician.

Copyright © 1996 TheNutritionReporter™
Author: Jack Challem

Honey for Nutrition and Health: A Review

Honey for Nutrition and Health: A Review
 Read entire Research Paper here:

Due to the variation of botanical origin honey differs in appearance, sensory perception and composition. The main nutritional and health relevant components are carbohydrates, mainly fructose and glucose but also about 25 different oligosaccharides. Although honey is a high carbohydrate food, its glycemic index varies within a wide range from 32 to 85, depending on the botanical source. It contains small amounts of proteins, enzymes, amino acids, minerals, trace elements, vitamins, aroma compounds and polyphenols. The review covers the composition, the nutritional contribution of its components, its physiological and nutritional effects. It shows that honey has a variety of positive nutritional and health effects, if consumed at higher doses of 50 to 80 g per intake.