Honeycomb in honey - how long does it last?

Question

I've got some nice honeycomb (submersed in honey) in a big jar, but the "best before" date was over 4 months ago! I was saving it for a year or two. Just realised the date is gone.

Any possibility it's still OK? Any way I can be sure?

Background for people who don't know much about expiration dates: Often expiration dates on food ("use by", "expires" or "best before") err on the conservative side, as the food producers can't guess very exactly when the food will turn bad.

So sometimes I'll eat a jar of something that lasts for 3-4 years on the shelf as much as a month or two after the date (expecially if it's a "best before" date, as that has a different meaning (by convention and possibly regulation, IIRC). But this is a bit long for me, so if anyone has some experience or good science for me...

Answer 1

Forever.

Honey, comb present or otherwise, does not go bad. It even acts as a preservative. The date you are seeing is solely referring to the "quality" degradation.

Completely edible honey has been found in 3,000 year old Egyptian tombs.

Answer 2

I have just enjoyed some of my 20+ year old cut comb honey from our own bees. Although dark in colour, it was excellent

Answer 3

Well we just opened up a vacuum seeped container of honeycomb with honey. Always heard that honey doesn't go bad so we dug in. It was so bitter and the comb virtually disintigrated. So, we knew honey is good basically forever but honeycomb IS NOT! I am just really hoping we don't get sick.