Is Honeydew Honey Raw?

Honeydew honey can be raw, but it is not automatically raw.

Whether honeydew honey is raw depends on how it has been processed after harvest. Honeydew describes the source of the honey, while raw describes how it has been handled. 

At Midlands, raw honeydew honey is not pasteurised. It may be warmed under controlled conditions to make it easier to blend, filter and bottle.

Hamish Finnie, BSc (Food Science and Human Nutrition), who works in Honey Sales for the Greater China region at Midlands Apiaries, explains:

“For us, raw means it’s not pasteurised. We have strict controls in place to make sure we are limiting the heating and minimising it as much as possible.”

Midlands typically warms honeydew honey to approximately 45°C for up to three days. During filtration, it may briefly reach approximately 65°C for a matter of seconds before being rapidly cooled to below 20°C.

The honey is filtered through 100- to 150-micron nylon filter bags, mainly to remove visible beeswax and occasional bee parts, while helping ensure a consistent appearance in finished retail and foodservice products.

Every incoming drum is tested, and each finished batch is reviewed before release.

Midlands honeydew processing at a glance

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What Does Midlands Mean by Raw Honey?

Raw honey is generally understood to mean honey that has been minimally processed and has not been pasteurised.

It does not necessarily mean the honey:

• has never been warmed
• has not been filtered
• has been packed directly from the hive
• has received no processing at all

Honey must still be extracted, stored, transferred and bottled before it reaches the customer.

At Midlands, controlled warming may be used when necessary, but the honey is not pasteurised.

As Hamish explains:

“Pasteurisation can degrade or denature enzymatic activity, which is measured in some of our testing parameters.”

He says limiting heat also helps protect the honey’s other natural qualities:

“By minimising heating, we are maximising the value to the consumer around product quality, longevity and making sure the flavour profile is not altered or changed.”

A clear definition for Midlands’ products is:

At Midlands, raw honey means honey that has not been pasteurised. Limited, controlled warming may be used to support handling, filtration and filling.

Does Heating Change Honey?

Heating can change honey, but the effect depends on both the temperature and how long the honey is exposed to it.

Prolonged or excessive heating may affect:

• Enzyme activity: Natural enzymes in honey can become less active when exposed to excessive heat for too long.
• Flavour: Excess Heating may alter honey’s natural taste and aroma as well as increasing bitterness.
• Colour: Prolonged heating can make honey darker.
• Other natural characteristics: Heat may also affect honey’s texture, freshness and overall quality.

This is why duration matters as much as temperature. Brief exposure to a higher temperature is different from holding honey at that temperature for a long period.

At Midlands, honeydew honey may be warmed at approximately 45°C for up to three days to reduce viscosity. During filtration, it may briefly reach approximately 65°C for a matter of seconds before being rapidly cooled to below 20°C.

The brief filtration stage is designed to help the honey flow through the equipment. It is not the same as prolonged heating or pasteurisation.

Midlands limits and controls heating to support processing while minimising changes to the honey’s expected enzyme activity, flavour and colour.

How Is Midlands Honeydew Honey Handled?

Extraction and storage

After extraction from the comb, the honey is initially filtered to remove visible hive-related material.

It is then stored in new food-grade drums or approximately 1,400-kilogram intermediate bulk containers.

Midlands uses temperature-controlled storage to help maintain the honey’s expected quality.

Hamish says:

“We have temperature-controlled storage facilities which ensure that the natural characteristics of the honey are maintained.”

This controlled storage helps protect the honey’s:

• flavour
• colour
• consistency
• natural enzyme activity

According to Hamish, the aim is to ensure that:

“When the consumer gets the product at the other end, the enzymatic activity is still high and the flavour compounds are as expected.”

Controlled warming

Honeydew is naturally liquid and often requires less warming than many floral honeys.

When warming is required, Midlands typically places the honey in a hot room at approximately 45°C for up to two days.

Hamish explains:

“Honeydew, being a naturally liquid honey, doesn’t require much heating, but typically we would heat it in our hot room at 45 degrees for two days.”

The purpose is not pasteurisation. It is to reduce the honey’s viscosity so it can move through the production process more easily.

“That allows us to blend it easily and pass it through our fine 100- to 150-micron filter bags.”

Is Midlands Honeydew Honey Heated to 65°C?

During filtration, the honey may briefly reach approximately 65°C as it passes through a heat exchanger.

Hamish explains:

“Through the heat exchanger at the filter, the honey is heated to 65 degrees for a matter of seconds, and then it’s cooled back down again quite rapidly to under 20 degrees.”

The duration is important.

The honey is not held at 65°C for an extended period. It reaches that temperature briefly to improve flow through the filtering equipment and is then rapidly cooled.

Hamish says:

“The warmer the honey, the easier it passes through and the better quality of filtration we can get.”

Temperature alone does not give a complete picture of honey processing. The length of exposure and the purpose of the heating also need to be considered.

For Midlands honeydew honey:

• the longer warming stage is approximately 45°C
• the brief filtration stage may reach approximately 65°C
• the higher temperature lasts for seconds
• the honey is rapidly cooled to below 20°C

How Is Midlands Honeydew Honey Filtered?

Midlands uses 100- to 150-micron nylon filter bags.

The main purpose is to remove visible material introduced during extraction and handling.

Hamish explains:

“Our honey passes through 100- to 150-micron nylon filter bags. The purpose is to remove any visible impurities in the honey, which mainly is beeswax.”

The filters may also remove occasional bee parts, such as wings.

“The main thing that’s filtered out is wax and maybe bee parts. That ensures the consumer is getting pure, clean honey that is aesthetically pleasing in the bottle.”

The stated purpose of the process is to remove visible material. It should not be confused with ultra-filtration or other intensive processing methods.

Filtration is a quality control point

Filtration is not treated as an informal production step at Midlands.

It is managed as a formal quality control point, or QCP.

Hamish says:

“For us, filtration is a quality control point, and it’s imperative that we get it right.”

He adds:

“The process is heavily regulated by our quality control team.”

Filter use and filtration activity are recorded as part of the production and quality process.

What Testing and Batch Records Support These Claims?

Midlands tests honey when it enters the facility and again after production.

According to Hamish:

“Every incoming drum is tested and recorded, helping commercial customers maintain traceability and quality assurance requirements.The results are kept in our portfolio, as well as every batch on product release after producing.”

Records supporting Midlands’ processing claims include:

• incoming drum test results
• drum identification information
• production batch records
• filtration records
• filter-bag records
• finished-product test results
• release approval

Hamish confirms:

“All of this is validated through the testing process at the finished-good end.”

Midlands’ quality-control procedures are also externally audited.

“We have our internal quality-control procedures, which are audited through AsureQuality and SQF, our global food standard.”

This means the raw, filtration and processing claims are supported by documented production information rather than relying only on label wording.

Commercial customers may also be able to request product specifications, certificates of analysis or batch information, depending on the product and supply agreement.

How Can You Check Whether Honeydew Honey Is Raw?

The word “honeydew” does not tell you how the honey was processed.

To check whether a particular product is raw, ask:

1. Has the honey been pasteurised?
2. Was it warmed during processing?
3. What temperature did it reach?
4. How long was it held at that temperature?
5. Why was heat used?
6. What filtration method was used?
7. What did the filters remove?
8. Is batch-specific testing available?

Do not rely on appearance alone.

Dark colour does not prove that honey is raw. A liquid texture does not prove that it has been pasteurised.

For information about the differences between honeydew and floral honey, including source, flavour and commercial uses, read Honeydew Honey vs Regular Honey.

Explore New Zealand Beech Honeydew

Explore Midlands’ New Zealand beech honeydew options for bulk supply, private label and commercial applications.

Contact Midlands to request current product specifications, batch information, samples or packaging options.

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