For several bee products, refrigeration is not an accessory but the defining part of the equipment.

What needs cold

• Royal jelly: From the moment of harvest; sensitive to heat, light and air
• Bee bread: Moist and perishable
• Pollen: If not dried
• Propolis: Both for preservation and to make it workable
• Comb: Freezing kills all stages of wax moth and small hive beetle

The cold chain begins at the apiary

This is where it most often goes wrong. With royal jelly, cooling begins at the moment of harvest, not on arriving home.

A cool box at the apiary is therefore as necessary as the spatula.

Why it is invisible

If the cold chain breaks, the product looks the same but loses value.

The buyer cannot detect it. That makes the cold chain a matter of honesty, not only of technique.

Freezing comb

This is the safest and cleanest protection for stored comb there is.

• All stages of wax moth die
• No chemical products needed, so no residues in wax
• Where the small hive beetle occurs it is the only reliable method

Comb is stored dry after freezing; condensation on thawing causes mould.

Practical points

• Pack products airtight against freezer burn and odour uptake
• Thawing and refreezing is inadvisable
• Note the harvest date on every unit
• Store bee products apart from strong-smelling foods

The question of scale

For small quantities an ordinary freezer suffices. Commercial jelly production requires a reliable, monitored chain — and above all a buyer identified in advance.