> The consumer is not joking. Tolerance for antibiotics at even trace levels is "zero" in the mind of many consumers. The consumer decides what is fit for consumption, and what is not. 

There is no such thing as "the consumer." Laws are based upon a consensus of opinions including a variety of consumers, scientists, politicians and professional regulators. Some consumers are more concerned about price, some are concerned about nutrition, some are concerned about various dangers: real, perceived or imaginary. 

It's quite clear that some folks are not laying awake about pesticide or antibiotic residues at parts per billion. Others are so fearful that zero tolerance laws are written to assuage these fears, adding greatly to the cost of food and causing needless problems for producers. 

When zero tolerance is the law, ever more sensitive detection will eventually detect amounts that not even the producer can control, such as contaminants introduced into the supply system from the environment. Products will be needlessly condemned. In a paranoid universe, everything is dangerous. The world is vastly safer now, though improvements are always in order. 

As a producer, I resent it every time somebody tries to promote their product by characterizing mine as nasty. Local products are rarely tested, they go straight from farm to market. Nobody is testing most local honey, produce, etc. So there is absolutely no proof that Fred Einstein's Chemical Free Honey is any better than Pete's Natural Honey, produced by legal and approved methods. 

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