Can Honey Go Bad?

Like any food, raw honey can go bad. However, raw honey has some fascinating properties that we´ll discuss here that allow it to stay edible when stored properly for a very long time.

If you want to learn how bees make pure honey, read this post next.

Beeswax lip balm with honey and vitamin e

Contents hide

1 Can Honey Expire?

2 What is the Shelf Life of Honey?

3 Why raw honey can last for years?

4 Honey May Change Color & Texture

5 Is Crystallized Honey Safe to Eat?

6 How to Properly Store Honey

7 Does Honey Make a Difference if it is Liquid or Honeycomb?

8 Is there any Bad Honey?

9 Is it good to eat old honey?

10 Is eating honey healthy?

11 What about unfiltered honey?

Can Honey Expire?

Natural honey is about 80% sugar and 20% water. This gives raw honey a characteristic called hygroscopicity.

What that means is that raw honey absorbs water molecules readily. When raw honey is left uncovered and exposed to the environment, it will start absorbing moisture slowly, and eventually, the sugar saturation will drop, and the water content will rise, creating a suitable environment for bacterial growth.

If that happens, the honey will ferment, at which point it will be better not to use it.

Now, if the honey has been kept in a tight container, it can remain edible for a long time. So, the next question would be, what is its shelf life? I´ll address that next.

What is the Shelf Life of Honey?

Here, it is essential to differentiate how long honey lasts or stays edible due to its properties and the expiration date printed on a label.

As I explained above, honey, stored properly, will last for a long time. There are reports of raw honey found on ancient Egyptian tombs that still was in good condition.

On the other hand, what about the expiration date on the label? The expiration dates on labels are rules established by government agencies that work well for processed food that can spoil quickly.

In the case of raw honey, the expiration date on a label is a guideline but does not mean that the product is spoiled after the specified date.

Why raw honey can last for years?

Pure honey has some physicochemical properties that make it resilient against microbial growth.

Honey’s antimicrobial properties fundamentally come from three factors.

The first is that raw honey contains a good amount of naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide, readily killing bacteria. Hydrogen peroxide is a well-known over-the-counter antiseptic.

The second one is that honey has a high sugar content (around 80%) and low water content (about 20%), which creates an unsuitable environment for microorganisms like bacteria to grow.

The last reason honey can last long is its low pH (around 3.9), which, together with the previous two reasons, makes it very hard for bacteria or yeasts to grow.

Honey May Change Color & Texture

So far, we have explained the reasons honey will not spoil quickly. However, honey may undergo some changes that might make it look to have expired to the untrained eye.

The main change that can happen is a crystallization process. It is a natural process that, given enough time, all-natural honey will crystallize.

I explain more about the crystallization process i n this post; however, it is produced by the high sugar content, the ratio of sugars involved, temperature, and micro impurities in the honey.

Depending on the relative influence of these factors on a particular honey will make it crystallize faster or slower.

Crystallized honey changes both texture and color. When it crystallizes, it becomes hard and whitish. Remember that those are just physical changes and not signs of spoilage.

If you are still unsure, next, I will address the safety of crystallized honey.

Is Crystallized Honey Safe to Eat?

Short answer, yes, it is safe to eat.

When crystallized, it has just gone from a liquid to a solid due to a physical characteristic called supersaturation.

So it does not mean that your beloved raw honey has gone bad. You only have to worry about storing honey correctly so it will not ferment.

If fermentation happens, it is time to throw it away. So, how to store honey? Keep reading.

How to Properly Store Honey

Container material and environmental exposure are crucial factors when storing honey.

Metal or plastic containers are not recommended due to the honey´s acidic nature, which can induce the leakage of harmful substances into the honey.

So, glass containers are the best for storing honey as glass will not leak unwanted substances.

Regarding environmental exposure to avoid honey from absorbing water and eventually fermenting, it is just a matter of keeping the airtight container correctly closed after every use.

Does Honey Make a Difference if it is Liquid or Honeycomb?

I made a whole article about honeycomb if you want to learn more about this way of eating honey.

Fundamentally, the only difference is that liquid honey has been extracted from the comb and does not contain beeswax.

There are no differences between the health benefits or nutritional components of both types of honey.

Is there any Bad Honey?

Yes, there are fermented honey, pasteurized honey, and adulterated honey.

We have already covered the fermentation process that honey may undergo when not stored correctly.

Pasteurized honey is a product of heating raw honey almost to 212 °F (100 °C). This process will destroy any bioactive compound that may provide health benefits and will carmelize sugars. So, with honey, it is a big no.

Counterfeit honey is a product of mixing cane sugar with water and some enzymes, heating the mixture to dilute and homogenize the sugar. The resulting honey is called industrial honey and has nothing to do with bees.

Is it good to eat old honey?

You can eat old honey if it is in an airtight container and not fermented.

Now, it is not better or worse for you; it is just honey that has been sitting for quite some time.

Also, you may notice that old honey is darker than previously due to a molecule called Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), an organic compound formed by the dehydration of reducing sugars, namely glucose.

When honey sits for a long time, that compound increases and gives honey a darker appearance. It is not bad; it is a characteristic of old honey.

Is eating honey healthy?

Honey provides several beneficial health benefits because of its antioxidant properties. It is an excellent alternative to sugar; however, eat it in moderation because it still may have the same metabolic impact as cane sugar.

The difference is that in honey, the sucrose molecule has been broken in two to produce glucose and fructose. Read this post next to learn more about honey´s properties.

Also, honey is a natural product with many bio compounds that provide antioxidant, antimicrobial, and soothing properties. So, it is excellent to alleviate a sore throat.

Its use is also very flexible as you can include it in many foods. It is an excellent addition to orange juice or any fruit juice. You can drizzle it over cereal or oatmeal or include it in a salad dressing. Spread it over toast or sweeten your tea or coffee. The options are endless.

What about unfiltered honey?

Honey produced by bees is naturally pure. It may contain microscopic bee pollen grains, but it makes part of what raw honey is.

When the beekeeper extracts honey, it is mixed with beeswax, as some of the wax will fall together with the honey.

So, pure honey has to be filtered in such a way as to get rid of that wax. If some wax is present in the honey, it is not a health concern, but if you use liquid honey, it is nice to have no impurities.