Hi Allen/All
Have heard all about you ( I am a good friend of Garth Cambray - you might
remember him a few years back).  My buckwheat honey was not particularly
dark at all, and certainly not sludgy.  There was a characteristic flavour
which local beekeepers loved but did not recognise, which suggests to me
that it was buckwheat honey.  Buckwheat honey is of particular interest to
me because we make an African Mead (www.iqhilika.co.za) and buckwheat is
reputedly good for brewing - not only because of the taste but because of
the dark colour (the mead is not pale urine-coloured).

Your answer quite nicely explains why honey may contain chloramphenicol, but
I am wondering (and my knowledge of AFB is limited being South African) if
the chloramphenicol was not used by beekeepers as a remedy for AFB locally
as opposed to in China.  Chloramphenicol would be more suitable than
penicillin et al. because there has been very little resistance build-up to
it.   Is it not perhaps American beekeepers that are using BW honey to
disguise dubious honey?
Cheers
Paul

Paul Collett
Makana Meadery/Department of Entomology, Rhodes University, South Africa
www.iqhilika.co.za
Apis mellifera capensis

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::