Three beekeepers from the province of Liège and one from Luxembourg secured four gold medals at the international ‘Honey from here and elsewhere’ competition on Friday.
The event was organised by the Beekeeping Research and Information Centre, CARI, and Apaq-W, both of which promote quality agriculture in Wallonia.
A panel of 45 judges tasted over 70 honey samples from four different countries, and also awarded 14 silver and 12 bronze medals, which were presented by Wallonia’s Minister of Agriculture, Willy Borsus, in Mont-Saint-Guibert.
Gold went to Christophe Cloze, from Liège, for his summer wildflower honey, and Alexandre Bernier from Bombaye for his spring rapeseed honey.
Gold medals were also awarded to Norbert Gazon from Waimes for his summer honeydew variety and Patricia Jacquemin from Nobressart for her spring dandelion honey.
The 73 entries included honey from 53 beekeepers from Wallonia, five from Brussels and 15 from France, Algeria, and Rwanda.
During the medal presentation, the Agriculture Minister highlighted the fact that Wallonia currently hosts 39,000 hives and nearly 4,000 beekeepers.
With the region’s support, they are tackling the challenges posed by the varroa mite, a parasitic mite that infests bees, and the presence of the Asian hornet.
The annual competition’s organiser, the Beekeeping Research and Information Centre (CARI) was established in 1983 by researchers from UCLouvain.
The organisation primarily analyses honey samples and develops projects relating to beekeeping, pollinators, and so forth. It also contributed to creating the ‘Walloon honey’ label, currently awaiting recognition as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) by the European authorities.
