MULHOUSE, France (Reuters) -- Bees at a cluster of apiaries in
northeastern France have been producing honey in mysterious shades
of blue and green, alarming their keepers who now believe residue
from containers of M&M's candy processed at a nearby biogas
plant is the cause.
Since August, beekeepers around the town of Ribeauville in the
region of Alsace have seen bees returning to their hives carrying
unidentified colorful substances that have turned their honey
unnatural shades.
Mystified, the beekeepers embarked on an investigation and
discovered that a biogas plant 4 km (2.5 miles) away has been
processing waste from a Mars plant producing M&M's, bite-sized
candies in bright red, blue, green, yellow and brown shells.
Asked about the issue, Mars had no immediate comment.
The unsellable honey is a new headache for around a dozen affected
beekeepers already dealing with high bee mortality rates and
dwindling honey supplies following a harsh winter, said Alain
Frieh, president of the apiculturists' union.
Agrivalor, the company operating the biogas plant, said it had
tried to address the problem after being notified of it by the
beekeepers.
"We discovered the problem at the same time they did. We quickly
put in place a procedure to stop it," Philippe Meinrad, co-manager
of Agrivalor, told Reuters.
He said the company had cleaned its containers and incoming waste
would now be stored in a covered hall.
Mars operates a chocolate factory near Strasbourg, around 100 km
(62 miles) away from the affected apiaries.
Bee numbers have been rapidly declining around the world in the
last few years and the French government has banned a widely used
pesticide, Cruiser OSR, that one study has linked to high mortality
rates.
France is one of the largest producers of honey within the European
Union, producing some 18,330 tonnes annually, according to a recent
audit conducted for national farm agency FranceAgriMer.
Ribeauville, situated on a scenic wine route southwest of
Strasbourg, is best known for its vineyards. But living aside
winemakers are about 2,400 beekeepers in Alsace who tend some
35,000 colonies and produce about 1,000 tonnes of honey per year,
according to the region's chamber of agriculture.
As for the M&M's-infused honey, union head Frieh said it might
taste like honey, but there the comparison stopped.
"For me, it's not honey. It's not sellable."
