Category:
Animal products (honey, dairy products of various kinds excluding butter);

1. Product name:
Propoli toscana

2. Other names:

3. Short product description:
Natural propolis has a solid texture, dark brown colour and strong smell and flavour. It’s diluted in alcohol and packaged in bottles fitted with a dropper.

4. Production area:
Throughout Tuscany.

5. Production status:
r disappeared r at risk r active

6. Production process:
Propolis is collected from metal nets previously placed inside the hive. After being extracted, they are placed in special containers and taken to the extractor room, where the propolis is extracted by hand and packaged. This is done in August.

7. Materials, equipment and premises used for production:
s Metal nets
s Containers for transportation
s Honey farm

8. Notes on traditionalism, homogeneity of spread and persistence of production rules over time:
Propolis is an ancient product. The extraction method used has improved much from past techniques. In the past, propolis was gathered by scraping the inside of the hive. It’s eaten with honey.

9. Production:
The product, together with royal jelly and pollen, is only a small facet in the production of honey – the principal product for all companies in the industry. Annual production throughout the entire region is around 40 tonnes. The entire industry is affected by competition from Chinese products, which are sold at a much lower price. In Tuscany, there are three associations that connect that region’s main beekeepers. Every year in September-October, Montecatini Terme organises the Miele e salute festival, during which propolis is presented. The main distribution methods are direct sales by producers to individuals and to local stores and wholesalers.