At first I was like, “Ooh cool, honey colored like M&Ms!” But then after reading about how that’s not good for bees and the honey they make is unsellable, I was like, “Ugh, stupid M&Ms honey.” Apiaries in northeastern France are battling a disturbing trend of blue and green honey and blame the phenomenon on nearby biogas plant that’s processing waste from containers of the colorful candy.

Beekeepers tell Reuters that they’ve seen bees returning to their hives with unidentified colorful stuff that in turn, is turning honey a funny hue. There’s a Mars plant about 60 miles away, but even closer is the biogas plant which has been handling the candy waste.

Since the honey can’t be sold, it’s not helping the beekeepers do their jobs effectively — which is to provide a lot of honey for much of the European Union. Bees are already dying at an alarming rate and honey hasn’t been a booming business this year after a harsh winter in France, said the president of the apiculturists’ union (a union for apiarists!).

Meanwhile the company in charge of the biogas plants said it had tried to fix things after the beekeepers complained.

“We discovered the problem at the same time they did. We quickly put in place a procedure to stop it,” Philippe Meinrad, co-manager of Agrivalor, told Reuters, adding that the company had cleaned its containers and any waste would now be stored in a covered hall.

And yeah, it looks pretty, yada yada — but pretty doesn’t sell, even if it tastes like honey notes the apiculturists’ union head.

“For me, it’s not honey. It’s not sellable.”

Blue and green honey makes French beekeepers see red [Reuters]

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