Honey laundering: more low-quality imported crap

Comment #8

time*treat — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:01:46 GMT

Thanks for your thoughts, folks. Some good ideas, here.

Comment #7

Rick G — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:45:13 GMT

My son is taking a beekeeping class. He and his co-worker are going to set up a couple hives. A hive can start with one queen and 3000 bees. It can grow to 10,000 bees. With the problems in the bee population this seems like a good endeavor.

Comment #6

joker17 — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:44:13 GMT

I wouldn't bee caught eating that stuff without first making sure it was not contaminated. I'm surprised there hasn't been a buzz about this in the news.

Comment #5

sully16 — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:24:07 GMT

America actually has a bee shortage, my brother in NC keeps bees and rents them to farmers, his whole inventory was wiped out twice in the last 15 years due to hurricanes, but there is some other problem with the bees.

Comment #4

konane — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 13:33:15 GMT

In Georgia you can look in the "Market Bulletin" published by the Agriculture Department showing ads for a whole range of things grown within the state. Have seen numerous ads from Georgia beekeepers selling honey with and without comb. Other states likely offer a similar publication.

Comment #3

TigerAngel — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 03:44:31 GMT

Don't eat anything from these countries noted, especially China.

Comment #2

sully16 — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:32:51 GMT

Thanks, next time I go to the apple orchard I'll stock up on Michigan Honey.

Comment #1

Rick G — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:50:49 GMT

Thanks for that info. Good to know.

Original Blog Entry: Honey laundering: more low-quality imported crap

time*treat — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:33:58 GMT

Honey has become a staple in the North American diet. Those that do not consume it straight from bear-shaped squeeze bottles eat it regularly whether they know it or not honey is baked into everything from breakfast cereals to cookies and mixed into sauces and cough drops.

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Most honey comes from China, where beekeepers are notorious for keeping their bees healthy with antibiotics banned in North America because they seep into honey and contaminate it; packers there learn to mask the acrid notes of poor quality product by mixing in sugar or corn-based syrups to fake good taste.

None of this is on the label. Rarely will a jar of honey say Made in China. Instead, Chinese honey sold in North America is more likely to be stamped as Indonesian, Malaysian or Taiwanese, due to a growing multimillion dollar laundering system designed to keep the endless supply of cheap and often contaminated Chinese honey moving into the U.S., where tariffs have been implemented to staunch the flow and protect its own struggling industry.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/honey-laundering-the-sour-side-of-natures-golden-sweetener/article1859410/singlepage/ / /#035;035;articlecontent

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