a few tidbits....
Did you notice how some are advertising "No real pollen" in their supplements?
Seems strange doesn't it. What do producers know that would motivate them to include "No pollen"? Seems for anyone who ever made supplements, adding real pollen is a real benefit.
So lets back up two years ago. Through some on-line discussions, it was uncovered that most commercial pollen, was being brought in from China. I'm not going to rehash names at this point. But up till then, nobody asked too many questions.
I even sent off my own commercial bought pollen for testing, and was shocked at the various chemicals in the stuff. And the DDT blew my mind.
All this came about by beekeepers asking the right questions. Why is pollen substitute sold with no ingredient lists? What is the nutritional basis, and does it meet the standard set 56 years ago, by DeGroot? Does it have the essential amino acids needed for bees to fully utilize the proteins?
BTW...as a side note. It seems that some are pushing for one guy or another to get full credit for writing one article or another about bee nutrition. Fat this...skinny that. The real "skinny" is that DeGroot defined the standard that has stood for 56 years, with little change.
Anyway...back to the story....So what was disclosed, was that large amounts, and I could suggest MOST commercial pollen being sold, and the pollen used in major commercial supplements, was using pollen from China.
At that time, I was in the middle of an FDA recall, to which I felt was part of a massive cover-up, aimed at getting the tainted pollen off the market, but also sweeping it under the rug. To this day, unless in very close quarters, most will not speak of what really was going on. I still have an unopened bag of pollen just in case anyone wants to get nasty over what I say.
So here we are two years later.....and the supplements are still not sold with nutritional values, ingredient lists, origins of products, or any type of certified standard.
The ironic part of all this, that besides a few beekeepers asking too many questions, the real motivation of getting the FDA involved, and the product being recalled, had to do with one supplier, reporting another supplier, to get a leg up on the competition.
I have previously stated.....I would NEVER buy again supplements or pollen from uncertified companies, and those that were not open and honest in the labeling.
Selling products, based on internal self testing, and based on how fast a product is eaten, is the wrong marketing approach. Unless the beekeeping community is willing to be screwed again.
Buy supplements at your risk. The history is littered with dirty little secrets. And it seems to me, nothing has changed to indicate much is changing.
