Honey is immortal. It doesn’t expire.
There are three key reasons why:
One: It is densely packed sugar with very low moisture.
The lack of moisture makes it extremely hard for germs to survive as the water gets sucked out of them the moment they arrive. (water can be absorbed through cells). And thus, honey has a vampiric effect on bacteria. (Source: The Science Behind Honey’s Eternal Shelf Life. Smithsonian Magazine. Geiling, Natasha)
Two: Bees.
When they make honey they produce what is called glucose oxidase—it converts glucose to gluconic acid. Which aggressively kills the bacteria that weren’t killed by the moisture vampirism.
Additionally, the glucose oxidase produces elements of hydrogen peroxide in the honey that finish off the remaining survivors.
Three: Bees again.
Bees produce antibiotics in their body called Defensin-1. When the honey is made—Defensin-1 is put into the honey, forming the final leg of the trifecta of death for common food spoilers. (Source: Antibacterial components of honey. Kwakman, Zaat)
This is why thousands-years old honey has been found during archaeological digs, and still fresh and able to be eaten.
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