can raw honey go bad? (2024)

FAQs

Can raw honey go bad? ›

Can Honey Go Bad? When it's stored properly, honey never goes bad, Grad said in an interview with Allrecipes. "Honey will darken and/or crystallize, but it is still safe to eat," she said. Metal or plastic containers can oxidize the honey, and heat can change its flavor.

The first thing to note here is that if your honey is bad, you will know your honey is bad because it will be fermented and it will taste sour instead of sweet. Crystallization is a natural process and does not mean that the honey is bad.

Natural, properly preserved honey will not expire. In fact, archeologists found honey thousands of years old in ancient Egyptian tombs, and it was still good! While most of us don't need to worry about honey that old, their discovery proves that if properly contained, real honey can last for a very, very long time.

No, even opened honey doesn't expire. Per U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, honey will remain safe to eat even after the quality of the honey declines.

Raw honey can contain spores of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. This bacteria is especially harmful to babies or children under the age of one. It may cause botulism poisoning, which results in life-threatening paralysis ( 26 , 27 ). However, botulism is very rare among healthy adults and older children.

In the USA, there are about 100 cases of infantile botulism reported each year. About 20% are linked to the consumption of raw honey. The infants affected are usually from immigrant families and the source of the spores in the majority of affected infants remains unknown.

Despite honey's antimicrobial properties, it can go off or cause sickness under certain circ*mstances. These include contamination, adulteration, incorrect storage and degradation over time.

Finally, the presence of gluconic acid gives honey a slightly acidic pH level—another barrier to microbial growth. In general, honey doesn't spoil. However, it can go bad if it's contaminated or incorrectly stored. If your honey has visible mold, or if it smells fermented or "off," then it's time to toss it.

Did your jar of honey crystallize? This is totally normal, and natural. Crystallized honey is just as edible and delicious as liquid honey, but if you don't like the texture of crystallized honey, it is quite simple to soften honey by adding heat. Heating honey will liquefy crystallized honey.

It might look spoiled because of the chunky texture and cloudy color, but don't toss it out! According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, crystallized honey is safe to eat. It's actually normal for honey to crystallize—all honey crystallizes eventually, according to the experts at the National Honey Board.

What does rancid honey look like? ›

It can change color from pale to dark. It can start clear and become cloudy. And, most peskily, its texture can change from smooth and thin to thick and grainy in a process called crystallization. Thankfully, none of these changes make the honey bad or unsafe to eat!

No vegetative forms of disease-causing bacterial species have been found in honey. Bacteria do not replicate in honey and as such high numbers of vegetative bacteria could indicate recent contamination from a secondary source. Certain vegetative microbes can survive in honey, at cool temperatures, for several years.

Heating honey to high temperatures – generally above 45-50°C – eliminates these benefits by killing the bacteria, enzymes, and antioxidants that make honey so powerful. Heating honey – whether at home in the cooking process, or by commercial producers – seems like a huge waste of an incredible natural product.

Honey May Change Color & Texture

While honey never spoils, it may change color (from clear to cloudy) or texture (thicker and grainier) over time. That's ok! Unless your honey becomes exposed to moisture and ferments (which will be super obvious), it's safe to consume.

A 2023 review of studies suggested that raw honey may have potential protective effects on the respiratory, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and nervous systems and even have potential in cancer treatment.

Researchers have found that honey may increase adiponectin levels, a hormone that reduces inflammation and improves blood sugar regulation. There's also evidence that daily honey intake may improve fasting blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

It can change color from pale to dark. It can start clear and become cloudy. And, most peskily, its texture can change from smooth and thin to thick and grainy in a process called crystallization. Thankfully, none of these changes make the honey bad or unsafe to eat!

Many people believe that once their honey has crystallized, it is spoiled and is no longer safe to eat. This is false, as natural honey is one of the only foods that never expires (if sealed properly). Crystallized honey is completely edible- in fact, you can use it in the same ways you use liquid honey!

Raw honey comes straight from the honeycomb. The beekeeper will usually just filter the honey to remove small bits of debris, including pollen, beeswax, and parts of dead bees. They do not pasteurize the honey. Raw honey appears cloudy or opaque because it contains these extra elements.