Bee bread is pollen the bees have packed into comb cells and allowed to ferment. It is the colony's stored protein, and it is also sold as a food.

How it forms

Bees pack pollen loads into cells, press them down, add nectar and glandular secretions and seal the surface.

Lactic acid fermentation then takes place. This lowers the pH and alters the composition; the acidity both preserves the store and changes its character.

Differences from pollen

• Lower pH: The product of fermentation
• Altered composition: Some compounds broken down, others formed
• Different taste: More acidic and denser
• More perishable: Its moisture content is higher than dried pollen

The claim that bee bread is more digestible than pollen is often made; the evidence is limited.

Harvesting

There is no easy method, and this is the main reason bee bread is expensive.

• Cutting from the comb: Labour-intensive; the comb is destroyed
• Freezing and extraction: The frozen comb is broken and the granules separated
• Special equipment: Exists but is costly

Whatever the method, the comb is generally lost — so the wax cycle and comb renewal have to be planned around it.

The cost to the colony

Bee bread is the colony's protein reserve. Taking it removes the store the colony would draw on during a dearth.

It is not harvested from weak colonies, before winter, or when forage is scarce.

Storage

• A cold chain is required; freezing is safest
• Airtight containers
• Mould is a real risk and a mouldy product cannot be used

Where the evidence stands

Bee bread contains protein, micronutrients and antioxidant compounds. Beyond that, human studies are few and the claims made run ahead of the evidence.

The allergy risk is the same as for pollen.

An honest position

Bee bread is a nutritious and genuinely distinctive product, and its price is justified by the difficulty of harvesting it. Explaining that is a sounder basis for selling it than a health claim.