Killer Bees Honey 2025 Smoky Mountain Wildflower honey: lab analysis says pure & spectacular!

2025 Smoky Mountain Wildflower Honey Key Findings

• Total Activity (TA): Received an extraordinary TA rating of 33.2, far surpassing the threshold for medicinal quality (TA10+) and even most premium Manuka and Sidr honeys. TA measures antibacterial strength through both peroxide (PA) and non-peroxide activity (NPA). Fewer than 1-2% of commercial or specialty honeys in the world has a TA rating >30.
• Pesticide-Free: Tested below detectable limits for glyphosate, glufosinate, and AMPA, confirming no agricultural chemical contamination.
• Unadulterated Purity: 0.0% C4 sugars, verifying that no cane, corn, rice, or beet syrups were added—an assurance rarely found in mass-market honey.
• Diastase Activity: With a diastase number (DN) of 19.4, it’s more than double the EU minimum standard and twice that of typical Manuka honey, showing the honey has not been overheated or degraded.
• Heavy Metals: Free from heavy metals except for zinc and nickel, which are natural and beneficial trace elements derived from the ancient Appalachian soil.

Detailed Results From Analytica Labs

Total Activity

Total Activity (TA) rating of honey is a recently developed measure of a honey’s ability to inhibit bacterial and fungal growth. Higher TA indicates stronger antibacterial potency and healing properties. The floral source is the essential factor in honey’s TA value. TA is usually measured on a scale of 1 to 20. TA10+ indicates beneficial health properties of honey. A TA20+ rating is considered excellent. Anything >TA30 indicates exceptionally high health advantages. Analytica Labs rated our Smoky Mountain Wildflower Honey at TA33.2.

Honey has two different types of activities; peroxide (PA) and non-peroxide (NPA). Total Activity is the sum of both (TA=PA+NPA). Peroxide is acquired by bees to protect their honey. It is the result of hydrogen peroxide which occurs naturally in honey. Non-peroxide activity is the result of organic occurring bioactive chemicals in honey. Again, this is a result of the floral sources the bees visit. 

How does TA compare to Manuka’s MGO (methylglyoxal) and UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) activities? MGO and UMF reflect only non-peroxide activity of honey from the Manuka bush, native to both New Zealand and Australia. Total Activity reflects both NPA and PA. When properly measured, most Manuka honey has a rating of TA10+. Our 2025 Smoky Mountain Wildflower honey with a TA33.2 has a higher TA rating as measured by the same Analytica Labs than the famous Turkish TA32.4 Yemeni Sidr ($84/10oz on Etsy). Further comparisons: 

• Elvish honey from the Black Sea region has the highest known TA rating of 55.62. It’s sold exclusively at Harrods of London for $1900.00 USD for 200 grams (7oz).
• Australia's Koora Honey sells 250 grams (8oz) of Jarrah honey TA35 for $90 USD.

Analysis for Glyphosate, Glufosinate and Aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA)

Our 2025 Smoky Mountain Wildflower honey tested below Analytica Labs' reporting limits of 0.0040 ppb for glyphosate (Roundup) and <0.010 ppb for glufosinate. In other words, both glyphosate and glufosinate are non existent in our honey. For perspective, the EPA establishes "tolerances" of glyphosate in crops, ranging from 0.1 to 400 ppm (parts per million, not billion). The EU has a limit of 50 ppm. Honey from one of the largest American honey producers recently tested at 653 ppm. The USDA and EPA have no limit for glyphosate in honey because there is no legal standard for honey sold in America, only “guidelines”.

AMPA originates when glyphosate breaks down in the environment or in the digestive systems of animals. It can be found in soil, water, plants and animals that have been exposed to glyphosate. AMPA has been associated with oxidative stress, DNA changes and potential reproductive harm. Our Smoky Mountain Wildflower honey tested below Analytica Labs' reporting limit of <0.010 ppb. 

Analysis for Adulteration

Our Smoky Mountain Wildflower honey had 0.0% C4 sugars. There is no cane, corn, wheat, rice, or beet syrups in our honey. Honey is one of the most fraud-prone commodities in global trade. Honey imports from Vietnam, China, Argentina, India, Brazil and Ukraine account for 74% of total honey sales in the United States, Most store bought honey which is labeled, “100% pure” or “all-natural” is adulterated with C4 sugars imported from foreign countries. Back in 2023 I wrote about honey adulteration and the false claims of “organic” honey.

Analysis of Diastase (Phadebas Method)

Diastase can be measured in the laboratory and is referred to as diastase activity with a diastase number, or DN. The EU’s Codex Honey Standard specifies a minimum activity of 8.0 DN. Our 2025 Smoky Mountain Wildflower honey returned with a 19.4 DN. This 19.4 DN is twice the Codex’s minimum requirement and more than double the DN of Manuka honey. Diastase is an enzyme introduced into honey by bees to partially convert disaccharides (complex sugars) into monosaccharides (simple sugars). More simply, converting starch into short chained sugars. Monosaccharides are more easily stored in the hive. DN is a quality indicator much like 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, or among friends, HMF-5. Heating degrades honey. Most packers pasteurize honey at 175°, essentially destroying it. Diastase is nearly non existent when this happens.We never heat our honey above the hive’s temperature of 95°. We only do this to facilitate dispensing honey into jars.

Analysis for Heavy Metals

Our Smoky Mountain Wildflower honey was tested for eight heavy metals. There are three reasons why heavy metals, many of them hazardous, are found in honey. First, heavy metals in honey are the result of unscrupulous packers who store honey and syrups in non food grade, 55 gallon metal drums or recycled plastic containers. Metal drums, non food grade containers and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) recycled barrels may contain not only heavy metals, but dyes, plastics and chemicals which are easily leached by the 3.9 pH acidity of honey. Secondly, heavy metals can accumulate in the soil as a result of environmental contamination. Lastly, some heavy metals are a natural byproduct of weathered rock. 

Analytica Labs reported that with the exception of nickel and zinc, our honey tested below reporting limits for arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, tin and mercury. Analytica Labs found 0.24 mg/kg (reporting limit of <0.20 mg/kg) of nickel or 1.8 mg/kg (reporting limit of <0.2 mg/kg) of zinc in the same samples. Zinc & nickel are essential trace elements for human health. Both play vital roles in many bodily functions including wound healing, immune system support, cell growth, bone health, vision and hormone regulation. These elements also reside in the metamorphosed soil of Western North Carolina. Geo scientist Dr. Thomas Scott, Assistant Sate Geologist (Emeritus) of the Florida Geological Survey explains:

“The Appalachian Mountains are very old. The first mountain-building episode (uplift) occurred more than a billion years ago and was followed by subsequent uplift episodes until some 250 million years ago. Each mountain-building episode brought rocks that had been deeply buried to the surface. In between the uplifts, the rocks were weathered and eroded resulting in the lowering of the mountains. Streams and rivers transported the resultant sediments into ocean basins where other sublimates such as limestone were also deposited. These sediments became deeply buried and were altered by heat and pressure (metamorphism) to form rocks. The heat and pressure caused new minerals to form such as mica, garnets and many other minerals. These are the rocks found in the mountains surrounding Killer Bees Honey. Rain falling on the modern mountains weathers the rocks. As weathering occurs, the rocks are broken down into sand, silt and clay creating the soil that blankets the mountains. The elements that make up the minerals naturally occur in the soil and can be absorbed by plants. Elements such as nickel and zinc are incorporated into all parts of the vegetation including flowers and pollen. This is how plants get their nutrients."

                             — Tom Scott, Ph.D., P.G.(Doctor Rock)

No other honey producer in North America tests and publishes lab reports on the integrity of their honey. Few honey producers in the world tests for such things as heavy metals or TA ratings. We have unequivocally demonstrated that Killer Bees Honey’s Smoky Mountain Wildflower honey is chemically pure, biologically potent, and structurally unadulterated—a rare benchmark of authenticity and therapeutic value in an often compromised global honey market.

Killer Bees Honey. Savor the exceptional.