Allen Dick wrote

> That is true, but they have also been selling some very good honey as
> well.  If all their honey were 'junk', we would have a far smaller
> problem.

I think a lot of the world did not start to analyse Chinese honey until the
EU put the ban on all animal products from China because of residues and
honey was one of those products caught up in the net.  The UK did some
analysis and found chloramphenicol.  There was some checking done a few year
back.  Remember chlordimeform?

> China is a huge country and very worthy of our respect and attention

Most definitely and it would be good to have China on a "level playing
field".  We are now having to put in QA programs and get our premises "up to
standard" and keep the associated paperwork.  What is happening in China?
We see all the photos coming out from people who have been there of
beekeepers extracting in tents with dirt floors etc.

Government's don't want to make sure that all imports are on that "level
playing field" but we have to jump through hoops to conform.

We have the Chinese using other countries to try and sell their honey and
pass it off as product of that country.  Might not be the beekepeers doing
this but it is the honey dealers and their partners.  Look at the honey
supposedly sold as Australian to the USA to get around the anti-dumping
tariff and presumably the residue problem.  Lucky our industry here in
Australia picked up this goings on and we were able to alert our Governmenet
who in turn alerted the USA as to what was happening.  The USA Government
was able to pick up the illegally imported honey which had chloramphenicol
residues.  If it had gotten though and been picked up at the retail level,
Australia would have been accused of having chloramphenicol in its honey
when this is not the case.

And before someone jumps up and says it is a bit of righteous indignation,
let me say that it is not.  All countries, including Australia, have had
their problems in the past.  We have had to address them in exactly the same
way as China now has to address their problem.  All I am saying is let us
have that "level playing field".

Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA

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