We've covered the topic of 'what to look for when buying royal jelly' in other forums, but it's always worth revisiting since it's probably the most important and often the most misunderstood aspect of purchasing bee products, and in particular, royal jelly.

Let's start by outlining the different forms in which royal jelly appear for purchase -

• Fresh Liquid
• Powder - freeze-dried (lyophilized), usually in a capsule
• Soft Gel
• Fresh but mixed with another substance, usually honey
• In a creme, for topical applications

Fresh Liquid royal jelly

We know from our research that fresh liquid royal jelly contains approximately 67% water and must be kept refrigerated or frozen. The question arises however, "what happened between the beehive and the packaging?"

It's nice to think that the fresh liquid royal jelly you are using in your drinks and cereals was properly handled before it came to you, but the chances of a safe passage from the hive to your table are pretty slim, at least when it remains in liquid form through the various stages.

This is important. Firstly, the vast majority of royal jelly is imported from Asia, usually China. It is either imported in powder form for subsequent processing at a facility here in the USA or it is imported in liquid form. The powdered royal jelly is processed at a facility in China using a technique called lyophilization which we'll cover in a moment. But what happens to the liquid royal jelly, if it is to be exported that way? - well, it is usually handled like any other type of food product with water content, it is 'pasteurized'. We all know what the pasteurization process involves, - heat. Royal Jelly contains live enzymes and it is critical that these enzymes remain intact, nutritionally speaking. But that isn't likely to happen when the product is pasteurized.

The upshot is, when the "fresh" liquid product arrives at your favorite USA bee product manufacturer, it has already been mistreated and much of the benefits of the royal jelly product have been neutralized through the pasteurization process. That isn't to say that it still won't have some nutritional benefit, but it's not what it should be.

Oddly enough, I've researched several of the USA's leading bee product processors, and from the 4 I spoke with directly, not one of them acknowledged that their royal jelly was pasteurized, in fact they each firmly denied it. In one instance, I purchased several cases of sample products from a leading producer of bee products and their warehouse re-packed and shipped the products in a container that had been used originally to ship royal jelly to them for reprocessing. Clearly marked on the outside of the shipping container were the words "royal jelly - pasteurized at source". This company had vehemently denied that their product was pasteurized!

Of course there is some royal jelly produced here in the USA and it is possible in some cases to have a product reach your table that has not been pasteurized, but the chances are very slim. And if you ask the supplier, clearly, if the product has been pasteurized, then in most cases the information you will receive will be false - I have proof of that.

So what is the best way to preserve the nutritional integrity of royal jelly -?

Freeze Drying

Also known as lyophilizing, freeze-drying is a dehydration process which removes the water from a substance by exposure to dry, freezing air. No heat or chemicals should be involved. Lyophilized royal jelly is a freeze-dried powder in which all the nutrients of fresh royal jelly are still present. In this state it can be stored at room temperature and thus has more uses and a longer shelf life, three years. It can be transported and exported without the need for pasteurization. It is simply a natural product in its pure state, without the water content and with the full benefits of royal jelly intact.

Certain 'marketing' companies try to make the case that freeze dried royal jelly is somehow inferior to liquid royal jelly, when all the time the know full well that their product has been pasteurized and mixed with other preservatives, often chemicals.

Once the product is in powder form it is more stable and can be capsulated for consumption. This is the safest way to consume your royal jelly products and to have access to their full range of health benefits.

Naturally it is critical that USA processors work with trusted suppliers and that the processes are tested and verified, otherwise, it could be the same low quality substance that arrives in liquid form. Garbage in, garbage out.

So basically, all royal jelly products are derived from one of the above two types of raw ingredient. Quality control is aided by the implementation of a standard termed 10-HDA, which is talked about here

What are your thoughts and experiences using bee products?

Well, we're through the 10 year mark now of providing premium royal jelly and bee pollen products, not forgetting propolis and honey!

It's funny how many times over the years I've been asked, "do you take the products yourself?" - naturally I do, I can't think of being without my daily Total Bee Plus.

Oddly enough I started out in the vitamin supplement business focusing on 'common' herbal products like Ginseng, St. Johns Wort, Ginko Biloba and a few others. The thing that was unusual was that people would read about the product, take them for a couple months then forget they ever existed. It wasn't until we/I got involved in beehive products around 10 years ago that I found people that would actually take the products long-term. That told me everything I needed to know about royal jelly, bee pollen and propolis - they really are effective as natural health supplements.

So I wonder if you'd care to share your experiences taking these, or any other vitamin supplement products.

I might even send you a free bottle if you have an interesting story to share!

CH