We are in the midst of the Minnesota State Fair which is usually an opportunity to see cute barn yard animals and eat strange things like deep fried mashed potatoes on a stick. But this year, Minnesota beekeepers teamed up with Senator Amy Klobuchar to bring attention to the dangers of honey laundering…you read that correctly: honey laundering.
The complaint appears to be specifically with China. The accusation is that China tries to avoid playing high import tariffs by rerouting Chinese honey through countries that have lower duties.
Senator Klobuchar used the example that if the tariff on honey from China is $1.20 per pound, but only 2 cents per pound if that same honey is labeled as a product from Argentina, China might try to sell their honey through Argentina to the United States.
She said one tell-tale sign is when nations with no history of exporting honey begin to ship huge quantities to the United States. Currently, there is no purity standard with honey set by the US Food and Drug Administration.
You may be wondering why this would be a big deal. Well, there could be substances in the honey that could be harmful. Recently, the FDA seized 64 drums of Chinese honey in Philadelphia that contained residues of Chloramphenicol, a bee anti-biotic used in China but not approved for use in the United States honey industry. Could Chloramphenical be harmful to humans in the long term? Could it weaken honeybee colonies?
Will this be solved soon? Doubtful, the FDA is overwhelmed checking every other food out there–e coli eggs anyone? So, what can you do? Try to get in touch with local beekeepers and purchase local honey from your state or town. Or go hog wild like we did and keep your own bees.
You can read more about the honey laundering issue here and here.
Chloramphenical is an antibiotic that isn’t used much in the developed world because of it’s serious adverse effects, namely bone marrow toxicity. This comes in reversible form and the irreversible aplastic anemia which is a rare side effect. The drug is quite cheap so it is often used in developing countries.
Oh, and thanks for the heads up on honey laundering, I would never have known otherwise.
I remember reading about a confiscation of a honey shipment in Seattle a couple years ago that also tested positive for banned chemicals. I refuse to buy honey from the store and instead stock up on honey from the local farmers market – though I’m tempted to start keeping my own bees.
Deep-fried mashed potatoes on a stick??? That sounds…marvelous…
Why would anyone not buy local honey?
Oh, maybe there is no local honey to be found. Okay.
You can’t just avoid ‘Product of China’ – you have to also watch for ‘Distributed by’ (which is what you are speaking of here – it goes through the other country and the company that is moving it – which could be based anywhere, like Canada, or England, or whatever gets to label it that way.)
This evasion has been common in pet food/treat products since the Melamine Disaster. And it’s a bias, yes, but I distrust any country that kills their own babies through their food production. Melamine again, this time in INFANT FORMULA. No scruples, no oversight? I don’t know, but I avoid, if at all possible.
You should check your own food chain in other areas, too. Trader Joe’s was selling elephant garlic made/grown in China. The question here is what was applied to it while growing? “Organic” from China doesn’t mean a thing to me.
I love learning something new every day…your blog helps! Oh, I haven’t tried the mashed potatoes on a stick, but heard about the Krispy Kreme Hamburgers–you guessed it, the buns are lo-and-behold, 2 Krispy Kremes…any other brand won’t taste as sweet and greasy!
Wow, disturbing information. Thanks for the heads-up! I’m lucky to be able to buy locally-grown honey in my area.
We are often surprised at how dodgy bee world can become.
I had actually recently bought some honey in a local grocery store out of desperation – it was late and I needed some honey. A formerly-respected “brand”. On opening it, I noted its smell, which was not very nice. Label reads “a blend of Canadian and Argentine honey”. Long before reading this post, I decided to shelve that honey (I didn’t like the taste, either) and bought some at the local farmer’s market…. So now, I know perhaps why it smells not “quite right”. Thanks for the heads up!