Scientists buzzing as they make artificial honey in laboratory

SCIENTISTS said they have made the world’s first vegan honey by replicating the insects’ digestive processes to create the look and taste of genuine honey.

Fooditive, a Netherlands-based ingredient manufacturer, said its honey also retained the health benefits of the traditional foodstuff.

The process inserts honey DNA into yeast and ferments it to replicate a natural mechanism that occurs in bee stomachs. The company said it will begin large-scale trials of the product in the New Year.

The bee population continues to dwindle at a concerning rate due to rising global temperatures, caused by climate change, that negatively impact honey bees and their food sources. But Fooditive aims to secure the world’s supplies of honey using the technology.

Honey bees play a vitally important role as pollinators, contributing directly to local food production through crops and the wider environment.

The economic benefit of pollination to crop production in the UK is £600 million per year, according to the Department of Rural Affairs.

Fooditive also hopes its venture will help to eliminate “intensive honeybee farms”, as common apicultural practices can be detrimental to bees because they increase the risk of outbreaks of diseases that can cause colony collapse.

Moayad Abushokhedim, Fooditive’s founder and chief executive, 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.”

Defra and the Welsh Government have published the Healthy Bees Plan 2030 to protect and improve the health of honey bees in England and Wales.

The plan sets out to promote effective biosecurity and high standards of husbandry, minimising pest and disease risks and improving the sustainability of honey bee populations, among other outcomes.