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Uruguayan honey gains ground worldwide by improving its safety with innovative technologies
LATU and Latitud, together with the company Urumiel, are developing a project to validate the use of irradiation as a tool to eliminate bacterial spores in Uruguayan honey. The initiative aims to strengthen bee health, preserve product quality, and create new opportunities to access international markets with stringent sanitary requirements.
Uruguayan beekeeping faces a significant sanitary challenge associated with American foulbrood, a disease caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. Its spores can remain viable for long periods in honey, hives, and apiary materials, creating risks for production and limiting access for Uruguayan honey to certain international markets.
In this context, LATU and Latitud, in collaboration with the producer Urumiel, are promoting a project aimed at refining gamma irradiation as a safe and effective tool to reduce or eliminate these spores without compromising the physicochemical quality of the honey. The initiative, which began in May 2026, seeks to generate technical and economic evidence to assess its future implementation on an industrial scale.
The project’s main objectives are to:
- standardize a methodology for counting Paenibacillus larvae spores;
- determine the effectiveness of gamma irradiation in reducing or eliminating spores in inoculated honey;
- identify an effective dose that does not alter key quality parameters;
- assess the technical and economic feasibility of applying this technology on an industrial scale.
LATU and Latitud are leading the project’s technical execution, with a team that brings expertise in microbiology, food quality analysis, and irradiation technologies, as well as the laboratory and pilot plant infrastructure needed to carry out the trials, analyze results, and generate information to support the future implementation of this technology in Uruguayan honey.
In this sense, the project, which is expected to last 12 months, may provide an innovative solution to a major sanitary issue for Uruguayan beekeeping. Its expected benefits include:
- improving the safety of Uruguayan honey;
- reducing economic losses associated with suspected contamination;
- generating evidence to facilitate access to new international markets;
- strengthening the competitiveness of the national beekeeping sector;
- promoting the development of capabilities in bee health and food innovation.
Through their ongoing commitment, LATU and Latitud transform knowledge into impact, with quality, safety, and sustainability at the service of Uruguayan industry and consumers. They drive innovation to generate tangible results that contribute to the country’s development, strengthening the economy and cooperation between the public and private sectors.
