Comb honey

Comb honey is honey sold still inside the wax comb where the bees stored it. EU law and the Codex standard define it as honey stored by bees in the cells of freshly built combs without brood and sold in sealed whole combs or sections of them; EU law also allows thin foundation sheets made solely of beeswax. ¹⁵

Forms. Besides whole combs and sections there is cut comb honey, cut to package size, and chunk honey, also called cut comb in honey: liquid honey containing one or more pieces of comb honey. ¹⁵ FAO notes that section, cut-comb and chunk honey were developed to be easy to ship, handle and retail. ³

How bees build the comb. Young bees hang together for about a day, and eight wax glands on the underside of their abdomen secrete small wax platelets; the bees chew them into pliable pieces and build hexagonal cells. A comb of about 20 g can carry 1000 g of honey, and the bees close ripened honey under a wax capping. ⁴

How section honey is made. It needs special colony management: round, square or hexagonal sections with wooden or plastic frames and very thin foundation are given to strong colonies, which fill them with comb and honey. A light honey that stays liquid until eaten is preferred, and the finished section goes straight into a clear container. FAO notes that buyers value its implied guarantee of purity and freshness. ³

How cut comb honey is made. Fully sealed combs are cut to the size of the package, the pieces drain on a wire rack and are packed in clear containers. Almost any honey can be sold this way if the combs are evenly sealed and fairly new, with white or light-yellow wax. ³

Is the wax edible? Yes. Beeswax is considered safe for human consumption and was approved as a food ingredient in the USA in 1978; it is inert and passes through the body unchanged. It melts at about 62–65 °C. Wax can, however, absorb fat-soluble substances such as pesticides or hive treatments, which is why new, clean comb matters. ⁴

Storage and label. Comb honey suits neither long transport in warm weather nor long storage; in the sun the cappings turn transparent and the comb becomes brittle. ³ In the EU the name comb honey must be used and cannot be replaced by plain honey. ¹ From 14 June 2026, EU honey labels must list the countries of origin in descending order with the share of each. ²

Sugar and babies. WHO counts the sugars naturally present in honey as free sugars and advises keeping free sugars below 10 % of daily energy, about 50 g for a 2000-kcal diet. ⁶ The US CDC warns that honey given to children younger than 12 months may cause botulism, a severe food poisoning. ⁷

Why it matters to you. When you buy honey in the comb, look for evenly sealed cells, pale new wax and the words comb honey on the label, and keep it out of the sun. ³¹ Count it as sugar in your diet, and do not give it to babies under one year old. ⁶⁷