It is important to keep your honey as clean as possible when you extract it. The same is true when you package and store your honey. Having a clean, pure product will make the honey more attractive to your customers. Here are some rules to follow when packaging and storing your honey:

1. Clean honey: Make sure the honey is strained well so there is no dirt, wax, or parts of bees in it.
2. Heating Honey: Do not heat your honey over 40°C. If you need to heat your honey, do so in a water bath (the pot of honey inside a pot of water). Do not put the honey over direct heat.
3. Store the honey quickly: If you leave the honey out in open containers, it will pick up moisture from the humid Solomon Island air. This will make it spoil. The worker bees spent many hours fanning the honey trying to evaporate the water! So make sure you store your honey in airtight containers as soon as you extract it.
4. Clean containers: Make sure the containers you put the honey in are clean. You can store honey in used containers. First make sure they have been cleaned well with dish detergent and water. Then rinsed well with clean water to remove all the soap. DO NOT use strong detergents or disinfectants such as Dettol or bleach to clean the containers. These chemicals may leave a strong smell. This will spoil the honey. NEVER store honey in containers that were used for petrol, diesel, kerosene, or any chemicals, acids or pesticides. No matter how well you clean these containers, the chemicals will never all come out. Your honey will smell and taste bad. It will be spoiled.
5. Plastic or stainless steel containers: , It is best to store your honey in plastic, stainless steel or glass containers. Tin containers will spoil the taste of the honey. Tin containers should not be used.
6. Dry airtight containers: Make sure the containers are dry and have airtight lids. If air gets into the container, it will put moisture back in your honey. The honey may spoil.
7. Do Not Store the honey in direct sunlight: When honey is stored in the sun, a chemical (hydroxymetholfulfural - HMF) increases inside the honey. This chemical will not hurt you when you eat the honey, but people overseas use it as a way to tell if the honey is old. If Solomon Islands honey has too much HMF inside, we may not be able to sell it overseas.
8. Do not store honey at temperatures over 35°C.