The issue with Chinese honey is not quality. The Chinese are capable of producing high quality honey. They also produce cheap unripe honey for export, in part because foreign buyers want that crap (because it's cheap). High moisture junk honey is produced in the US, too. That is why we are lobbying for a honey standard for the US. 

The main issue with Chinese honey is their propensity for using antibiotics that are illegal in other countries. The use of chloramphenicol is widely known. Recently, import alerts have been issued against companies known to sell Chinese honey tainted with FQs. The following study was done IN CHINA to see if FQs could be detected in royal jelly, which they were. 

These people want to compete in the world market and they will produce quality goods. That is the easiest way to get your product into the US and the EU.

In apiculture, FQs [fluorinated quinolone drugs]
are used for the prevention and treatment of a disease
known as American foulbrood (AFB), caused by the sporeforming
bacterium Paenibacillus larvae subspecies larvae,
which is one of the most severe bacterial diseases affecting
the larvae of the honeybee Apis mellifera and results in
a decrease of bee population and honey production. 

In some countries, maximum residue limits (MRLs)
for several FQs ranging from 10 to 600 ng/g have been
established for foodstuffs of animal origin [11–13]. No
such regulations have so far been introduced for FQs in
bee products, especially royal jelly.

A total of 57 real royal jelly samples collected
from beekeepers and supermarkets were analyzed. 
The three most abundant honeybee-
use FQs, i. e. ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and 
norfloxacin, were determined in some
royal jelly samples in concentrations ranging 
from 11.9 to 55.6 ng/g. 

FROM:
Simultaneous determination of seven
fluoroquinolones in royal jelly by ultrasonic assisted
extraction and liquid chromatography with
fluorescence detection

Professor Jing Zhao, Bee Research Institute,
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Bee Product Quality
Supervision and Testing Center, Ministry of Agriculture, 100093
Beijing, China

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm