Honey Storage and Transport Vessels

Honey storage and transport containers are the food-grade buckets, pails, drums, stainless steel tanks and tins in which extracted honey is kept in bulk until it is sold or used, and in which it is carried from the apiary to the store and from the store to the buyer. The right container protects honey from moisture, odours, light and metal contamination; the wrong container can make good honey unsaleable within a few months. On this page you will find container materials, choosing sizes, transport rules and cleaning containers.

What material should honey be stored in?

Honey is an acidic and hygroscopic food: it corrodes unsuitable metals, absorbs water from the air and picks up odours from its surroundings. So the first criterion when choosing a container is that the material is suitable for food contact. In Türkiye, the Turkish Food Codex regulation on materials and articles in contact with food applies to honey packaging; asking the supplier for a declaration of compliance is the surest approach.

What types of honey storage container are there?

Honey buckets

The most common bulk container in hobby and small commercial beekeeping. They are made of food-grade plastic; a tight-fitting lid with a seal and a sturdy handle are important. Some buckets have a honey gate at the bottom; these are also used for settling and filling.

• Size: Think about the strength of the person who will lift and carry the honey. A full bucket of honey is noticeably heavier than a bucket of water of the same volume.
• Crystallisation: Fast-crystallising honeys (such as sunflower, oilseed rape and cotton) set rock-hard in a bucket. Keeping these honeys in smaller containers makes liquefying them later easier.
• Labelling: Write the batch number, apiary, extraction date and moisture value on the bucket; label the body, not the lid, because lids can get mixed up.

Stainless steel tanks

Used for settling after extraction and for large stocks. Food-grade stainless steel is unaffected by honey, does not retain odours and lasts for years. Lidded tanks with a bottom gate serve both for storage and for filling. In large operations, a heating jacket is added under the tanks so that crystallised honey can be liquefied at a low temperature.

Drums

In wholesale trade and export, bulk honey is usually transported in large steel drums. Their inner surfaces are coated with a food-grade lacquer. When using drums:

• Check the coating: Do not put honey in a drum with dents, scratches or traces of rust.
• Stay close to the single-use principle: A drum used for another product is not suitable for honey.
• Close it completely: The bung and lid seal must be sound; the drum should be transported upright, not on its side.
• Plan for warming: If the honey in a drum crystallises, a special heating set-up is needed to get it out. Putting a drum directly on a fire or in the sun spoils the honey.

Jerrycans

Plastic jerrycans are common at markets and in rural sales. The problem is that most have previously been used for cooking oil, detergent or other liquids. A second-hand jerrycan of unknown origin is not suitable for honey; residues and odours are often not removed completely by washing.

How should honey be transported?

In Türkiye, the Honey Communiqué of the Turkish Food Codex requires honey to be kept at every stage, from the packing or filling point until it reaches the consumer, in clean, dry places free of odours, protected from direct sunlight and at no more than 25 °C. Transport is included in this rule.

1. Check the lids: Before setting off, make sure every lid is fully seated and its seal is in place.
2. Secure the load: Arrange the buckets on a pallet or in a crate and secure them with straps or stretch film. A bucket that tips over soils both the honey and the vehicle.
3. Protect from sun and heat: In summer, honey left in the sun in a closed van heats up quickly. If possible, transport it during the cool hours and park the vehicle in the shade.
4. Do not carry it with strong-smelling loads: Fuel cans, pesticides, paint and animal feed should not be in the same load space.
5. Keep the documents with you: Batch numbers, moisture measurements and any analysis reports give the buyer confidence.

Transporting frames of honey

When carrying unextracted honey frames from the apiary to the extracting room, put a drip tray under the supers and cover them. An open super attracts bees and robbing along the way, and dripping honey soils the vehicle. Frames should be extracted as soon as possible.

How are honey containers cleaned and reused?

1. Remove the remainder: Collect the last of the honey in the container with a spatula.
2. Wash with warm water: Honey dissolves in water. If you used a scented detergent, rinse with plenty of water.
3. Dry completely: Water left at the bottom of a bucket or drum dilutes the surface of the next honey and starts fermentation.
4. Check by smell: A clean container should be odourless. If an odour remains, the container is not used for honey.
5. Store closed: Empty containers should be kept closed or upside down in a dust-free place.

Scratched, cracked or discoloured plastic buckets and metal containers with damaged coatings should be replaced. Honey and dirt lodged in scratches cannot be removed even with thorough washing.

Common mistakes in storing honey

• Leaving the lid loose: Honey absorbs moisture from the air; the surface becomes watery and fermentation starts there.
• Half-filling the container: A large air space at the top causes condensation as the temperature changes.
• Putting containers on the floor: A cold, damp floor, plus the risk of ants and mice. Containers should stand on shelves or pallets.
• A damp cellar or next to a barn: The store should be dry, cool, dark and odour-free.
• Not writing information on the container: If it is not known which bucket came from which apiary and period, no single-flower or regional claim can be defended.