Hello all,
An item on this morning's CBC radio news quoted a study that claimed, "50%
of the honey imported into Canada from the U.S contains phenol" (quoted from
sleep-fogged memory and not certain to be accurate). It referred listeners
to a site: www.foodwatch.ca <http://www.foodwatch.ca/> .  I could not find
this particular statistic on this site, but by clicking "Get to Know Your
Food" and then "Toxic Tracker" and then "Other" I finally found a reference
to honey.

The data apparently come from the "Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA)
CA-0014: Residues in Agri-foods Monitoring Program" database.  They list the
following contaminants in honey: PHENOL, SULFAMETHAZINE, SULFAMETHOXAZOLE,
SULFAMONOMETHOXINE, SULFATHIAZOLE, TETRACYCLINE, CAPTAN, and
OXYTETRACYCLINE. Some of these contaminants seem to have been found in
quantities exceeding the "maximum residue limit" on some of the tests. I
didn't find a reference to the origin of the honey tested.

I don't know what these substances are, or whether they are dangerous.
Would someone who does care to comment?

Moira