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My family likes honey. There’s often a little bear shaped
container of honey in our pantry. That little bear may have come from Sue
Bee Honey, one of America’s largest and oldest honey cooperatives in Sioux
City, Iowa. Formed by five bee keepers in 1921, today Sue Bee produces 40
million pounds of honey.
Honey is one of the oldest known foods. Ancient Egyptians kept bees and used
the honey not just for sweetening but for its healing power. Ancient
Olympians used honey to help maintain energy and boost their performance.
Today honey is still considered an important health food but the story
behind honey production is not sweet.
In a five month investigation into honey laundering, the Seattle Post
Intelligencer found that honey coming into the United States from China
contained banned antibiotics. The news series reported in August of 2008,
350 drums containing 223,300 pounds of Chinese honey was shipped from Wuhan,
China to a warehouse near New Delhi. This honey, according to Indian Customs
reports, was relabeled as Indian honey and shipped to the Sue Bee Honey
Company in Iowa. The company’s tests of the honey found the banned
antibiotics.
Investigators also found Chinese honey coming into the U.S. through Russia
contained banned antibiotics. The Post Intelligencer reported if the honey
is returned to the importer or dealer because of problems, it is often
resold to a Texas packer or a Michigan firm that rarely tests for
antibiotics.
In March 2007, the Food and Drug administration issued a revised “import
alert” when Florida detectives found two banned antibiotics - iproflaxacin
and enroflxacine in honey from China. This alert came on the heels of
previous alert seven years ago because officials found the banned antibiotic
Chloramphenicol. This antibiotic is restricted because of its
disease-causing side effects. Officials found some honey tainted with
pesticides.
In addition to the problems identified by the Seattle Post Intelligencer
series, in November 2008 the FDA warned of honey adulterated with corn or
cane syrup. These adulterations are done to increase the bulk and selling
price of the honey.
A consumer purchasing the bear shaped container labeled as honey would have
to squint hard to find the word ‘imitation’ printed in tiny letters on the
label. Instead of pure honey they are paying for a container filled mostly
with corn syrup.
So how do we protect consumers from ruthless honey launderers? I learned
there is no national or state standard for honey. So I introduced
legislation to establish a standard for products sold as honey in Wisconsin.
A honey standard is comprised of specific ranges of sugar levels, moisture
content and other scientific indicators of quality. I used the international
standard set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a body recognized by the
World Trade Organization as an international reference point for the
resolution of disputes concerning food safety and consumer protection.
All regularly produced honey in Wisconsin should easily meet this standard.
Honey will typically only fail to meet this standard when it has been
packaged improperly, blended with artificial sweeteners, watered down or
when it contains elements of certain antibiotics and other chemicals.
My bill directs DATCP to create a voluntary ‘Wisconsin Certified Honey’
program in which enrolled producers guarantee their honey meets the Codex
standard. The bill also gives honey producers the ability to seek damages
from those who blended their honey with artificial sweeteners and advertised
that product as pure honey.
Establishing a product standard will protect the livelihoods of hundreds of
Wisconsin’s beekeepers - from commercial producers to the local beekeepers
at the neighborhood farmer’s market and Wisconsin’s honey consumers. And the
standard will make sure Wisconsin consumers won’t get stung when purchasing
honey.
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