HOT summer weather may be at the root of the toxic honey consumed by Coromandel holidaymakers over the Easter break.

DESPERATE BEES: Beekeeper John Riggir believes the hot summer may have cut the number of flowers, leading bees to switch to tutu nectar, which is toxic to us but not to bees. Times file photo.

Health officials have confirmed that comb honey eaten by several tourists who visited the Coromandel last weekend was tainted with nectar collected from the native tutu bush.

The shrub is poisonous to humans and herbivorous animals, such as cows and sheep.

Pakuranga beekeeper John Riggir says unseasonably warm weather this summer may have reduced the food sources available for bees in the Coromandel, forcing them to seek out the tutu plant.

“I would think that this heat has cut the number of flowers down,” says Mr Riggir, a long-time beekeeper.

“Everything’s brown and the bees are looking for food. Generally they go to flowers, but in hard times they can go to toot (tutu).

“It’s not poisonous to the bees, but it’s very poisonous to us.”

Honey contaminated with excessive amounts of tutu bush nectar can be fed back to bees, but is not fit for human consumption, says Mr Riggir.

He says east Auckland honey lovers should not be concerned about local or national honey suppliers, as the incidents were confined to the Coromandel area.

“We don’t get any [toot] here so I’m not worried about looking for it.

“You do get toot elsewhere, but it’s not enough to bother you.”

He believes inexperience on the part of some Coromandel beekeepers may have played a part in the poisonings.

“The procedure is to shift the hives out during that time of the year.

“Beekeepers would normally isolate that honey. It’s well-known and beekeepers should be well aware of it.”

Certain areas in New Zealand have a history of bees feeding on the plant and producing toxic honey.

The risk areas are the Coromandel Peninsula, eastern Bay of Plenty and Marlborough Sounds.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) is urging members of the public who purchased honey from the Coromandel Peninsula since early January to check with the supplier.

The NZFSA also advises people to contact their GP if they feel they may have suffered illness related to honey.

For more information, contact the Waikato District Health Board on 0800-276-216.