> Have been reading all the latest outrage and information on the can have =
> , can't have drugs to kill mites and beetles that other countries can =
> use, and we in the US can't use.  Has anybody ever checked the honey =
> being imported to see if there is any trace of illegal drugs in the =
> honey.  Seems to me, it should be illegal to import honey into the US if =
> anything was used on the hive, or on the bees that we still have not =
> approved its use, and have it for sale.

    I don't think there are any testing requirements supervised or mandated
by the US government regarding imported honey. The packer I asked about what
percentage of his honey did he test he said not very much and that he paid
for a lot of liability insurance. What an attitude. American beekeepers
could do a lot for them selves by getting the labeling requirements for
honey easier to understand. I think honey sold  in the United States of
America that contains ANY foreign /imported honey should be required to use
the word imported as large as the word Honey and a meaningful disclosure
statement about the possible sources of origin.

    The National Honey Board does a lot of very good things for the
marketable image of honey. The NHB only needs a little tweak so that the
emphasis is on US beekeepers and US Honey. I think that the majority of
Americas honey buyers would choose AMERICAN HONEY versus IMPORTED HONEY. I
think the American Public is potentially very sensitive about the honey bees
role in the food chain and would be very sympatric to beekeepers if
beekeepers  got organized and made a media blitz across America making the
point to buy American and better yet local honey. Be sure to look at the NHB
referendum voting issues and procedures. I will try to post more on this if
not censored.
All the Best
Walter Patton