Will honey expire?
of course it will expire.
The main component of honey is sugar. The role of sugar is similar to that of salt. It can form a high osmotic pressure, which makes it almost impossible for microorganisms to grow. It is not easy to deteriorate and can be stored for a long time under certain conditions. Therefore, honey can be stored and put in time without adding preservatives.
However, if stored improperly, honey may also deteriorate.
The hypertonic environment of honey makes it difficult for spoilage microorganisms to survive, but microorganisms also called "osmophilic yeast" can survive in honey tenaciously. If you open the honey you bought back and do not pay attention to sealing it when storing it, it will gradually absorb the moisture in the air over time, and the honey may deteriorate.
According to the current food safety standards (GB7718), except for wine, vinegar, solid sugar, salt and monosodium glutamate above 10 degrees, all other foods need to be marked with a shelf life! Generally, the shelf life of honey that you see on the market is about two years.
Is expired honey harmful？
Actually not necessarily.
When we say "expired", we usually refer to the "shelf life" of food.
The "shelf life" is actually just the manufacturer's promise to consumers for the best taste and safety. From the perspective of taste and safety, the food within the shelf life is of course the best, but expired food can also be eaten under the premise that the food storage conditions are up to the standard, the packaging is intact, and the color and flavor have not changed.
Expired honey may deteriorate due to the fermentation of osmotic yeast. However, such honey usually only produces a slight sour taste and wine taste, which does not affect the safety of eating, and it will not be harmful to eating, but it will affect the taste. . In fact, if it is well preserved, the honey does not have a sour, pungent taste and bubbling, and it can still be eaten near expiration or even after a period of time.
Therefore, the collection of impending and expired honey is not necessarily a bad thing. Throwing it away is also a waste of resources and a burden on the environment. The key is to use it after recycling. This is also the part currently being investigated by regulatory agencies.
