I have read that it is better to buy local honey. Is it possible to buy "bad" local honey? And why would it not be good? I do know that the honey sold at the local health food store sure looks different than what I can buy at the supermarket.
Supermarket honey is usually pressure filtered and heated. This removes the desired pollen etc. so you basically end up with just liquid sugar in a jar. Also they blend honeys to get the standard color they want. Or packers just buy the light honeys. They filter and heat it to keep it from crystallizing (getting solid) on the shelf. Folks think something is wrong with crystallized honey but honey never spoils. If you buy local raw honey and it crystallizes put in in a warm pan of water,water just before boiling, and turn the heat off with the lid on the jar. It may take a couple baths but it will put it back to liquid. This is a lot easier with glass instead of a plastic bear. Do not over heat the honey, it will kill the enzymes and properties. Different honeys crystallize at different rates based on source and sugar content of the source.
In the store also watch honey blends. Read the label carefully and make sure it is not a blend. A lot of companies are selling honey flavored syrup these days or honey cut with corn syrup. Also the game of packed by so and so for example say in Ohio. Laws differ from state to state. Some packers buy in a state other than their home state and label packed by their company name in their home state and the label is still legal. And another thing, illegally imported honey is a multi- million dollar enterprise. Bought in China and filtered though foreign countries to include Canada. There is a push to pass a law that raw honey has to have pollen left in it. This is because if you have pollen in the honey you can trace the country.
Different honey from different areas have different taste, depending on source. Some is smooth, some has a kick etc. Different honeys from the same area will taste different from year to year. As far as local honey, getting bad honey....if it is someone local you can track down probably not. But local honey is usually considered 40-60 miles from your location. This is to have your local pollen in the honey. Some folks buy honey from out of state and will sell it as local. So best to be familiar with the keeper and know the product.
Another thing to watch is the organic kick. Technically, no organic honey is produced in the US. It is a word and USDA definition game. There is no large track of land in the US that a bee flying radius can be covered to declare it organic as folks would like to think. Another game played is with names of type of honey. Some states have sources that can be isolated to time of year but a lot of times not. Like calling honey (strawberry) honey and have 25 acres of strawberries next to the hive. If there is any source blooming within a 3 mile radius than it is wildflower and not a specific source. Some states do have large enough tracks of clover, alfalfa or an isolated bloom of a source that they can pull and extract and isolate. But the naming of honey by a source is usually an advertising gimmick.
As far as honey and allergies, there is no medical proof, but why would the medical profession put out the $$$ to prove or disprove? I have folks tell me that local honey helps some of their symptoms and have had a few tell me they have never had another allergy shot since they started consuming local honey. Is it a placebo affect? Well either way if it helps them mental or physical, who cares.
So I will stop boring you
and leave with one last comment, if you ever eat raw honey from a local keeper, you will never buy that stuff in the chain store again