At 13:16 -0400 10/9/98, Tracy Monahan wrote:
>this string has hit a nerve that I have been dealing with about imported
>honey.
>
>A friend of mine recently went to china and  bought a baby.  She
>explained how the venders would prepare rats for sale.  they would sell
>the meat saperate from the guts.   If these people would eat rat guts
>what would they put in there honey for an extra buck.
 
I've never eaten rat, but a rat is an animal just like a pig and we eat
them. In china pig esophagus and stomach are delicacies and they really are
quite good and probably lower in fat than a pork chop. Ever had a hot dog,
well that's what pig stomach tasted like first time i tried it. I've spent
over five weeks in China on business, many times in quite out of the way
places and I've never experienced any sickness there.
 
While kitchen hygiene is not up to Western standards, the food is fresh and
it is served hot, directly from the wok to your table.
 
So just because they eat something that grosses you out, doesn't mean their
honey is unsafe.
 
>I thought about the brood in the bag being mashed and the liquids mixed
>with the honey.
>
>Is importated honey checked for fical matter?
>
>
>to discuss this idea publicly hurts honey sales,  imported or not.
>
>other countries seem to use chemicals that are forbidden in the U.S. and
>we eat it any way.   Whats the logic.   Who are the laws portecting?
>
>suppers ready
 
The Chinese countyside is very poor, and I have no trouble imagining a
honey producer working in a dirt floored shack extracting his crop. I would
be more concerned about this than wheter or not they are eating rat guts.
 
Paul
 
Paul Nicholson               Electronic Imaging Systems, Inc.
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