How can bee pollen be organic?

Question

Bee pollen is frequently referred to as a health supplement and sold as "organic" in organic supermarkets and stores.

I am wondering how pollen can be claimed to be organic and to what extent organic pollen sold differs from non-organic (as referred to the label) pollen.

From my common sense reasoning, I imagine it to be very difficult to restrict bees to only collect pollen from plants that were not treated with chemicals.

Lastly, are there any adverse health effects from eating non-organic pollen? Are they more likely to contain chemicals if collected directly from plants that were exposed to chemicals?

Answer 1

It seems from this article that for pollen and honey to be considered organic, there are stipulations on land 3km radius being chemical free and hives to be organic by being natural untreated timber or metal and free of lead based paints.