Know your competition!
It is not a country, it is not a flag, it is not a person.
It is nothing more than a big stainless-steel mixing tank.

Taken from Jim Fischer's mail  - sums up some of my thoughts.

Several months back when individuals over here in France were discussing

the proposals that were being put foreword for the ECU. Honey Directive
(and how it was going to be intertwined with the Codex a.) - labeling
was
a difficult point to clear.

What beekeepers usually wish to see is not what Packers want on the
final product.
WHY - because what is in the pot and what the consumer actually presumes
is usually not often the same. There is a legal game being played, with
the law/directive being set out in "fudged language".

Effectively, during the discussions dealing with Codex a. and the ECU.
Directive - much pressure was brought to bear, to ensure that the
consumer was to get a clear indication what he/she was buying. This
pressure had its origin mainly from the producer countries.
For many diverse reasons, each point was dismantled usually by the
Packers (major importing countries). The power base (representatives
from the dominantly importing countries) eventually placed the process
of getting a new Codex in jeopardy by presenting that if the packers did

not get their way, then they would veto the whole process - leaving the
industry with the possibility of gaining nothing. Even the producing
countries realised that this would be a disastrous situation and
capitulated.

Summary: This problem is not one of beekeeper from different countries
being set against each other.
It is a profound gap between producers and the conditioners/packers -
who view the whole process of labeling from a purely economic
standpoint.

It will only be rectified by imposition from outside: Gov't,UN, OE etc.
They have the theoretical power to clarify - but have they the will.

Useful reading may be had from:
Apiservices - Honey quality and International Regulatory Standards.

http://www.apiservices.com/articles/us/honey_quality.htm

Please remember - beekeepers from different countries are proud of what
they produce, and if it is of proper quality deserves to be sold
wherever. At what price - that is a different point to be raised and
discussed.

Peter