Royal jelly

royal jelly

Question-Which of the following alternative is/are true about ‘Royal jelly’?
(a)Royal jelly is the mixture of secretions from hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker bees, free from any additive.
(b)It is also called ‘Bee milk’
(c)Both a & b
(d)None of the above
Answer-(c)
Related facts-

  • With the need to curb rampant adulteration in honey and further strengthen its quality, On 22 August 2018, FSSAI, country’s apex food regulator, has notified the standards for honey and its product.
  • The move comes in view of government promoting farmers to venture into the beekeeping business to increase their income. The standards will help farmers in fetching better prices for their products.

FSSAI notification

  • Honey should comply with 18 parameters like that of sucrose content, glucose ratio, pollen count, foreign oligosaccharides among others.
  • Honey can be labeled according to floral or plant source, if it comes from any particular source, and has the organoleptic, physicochemical and microscopic properties corresponding with that origin.
  • The pollen content of any of the plant species in multifloral honey should not exceed 45 per cent of the total pollen content.
  • If the product is sold as honey then food ingredient should not be added to it and should not be heated or processed to such an extent that its essential composition is changed and its quality is impaired.

Government initiatives in promoting honey production-

  • Mission for integrated development of horticulture (MIDH) and the National Bee Board have been formed for implementing various activities for development of scientific beekeeping under MIDH.

Facts-

  • Royal jelly is the mixture of secretions from hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker bees, free from any additive. It is the food of larval and adult queens. It is also called ‘Bee Milk’.
  • Bees wax is a natural wax obtained from the honeycombs of bees of Apidae family after the honey has been removed by draining or centrifuging.
  • White Bees wax is obtained by bleaching the yellow bees wax with oxidizing agents.

References-
https://www.fssai.gov.in/dam/jcr:e7d4c0a6-7682-45ce-bdeb-e4afdf002b07/FSSAI_NewsAdulteration_Outlook_23_08_2018.pdf