> It should be clear to even the casual observer that any/all honey that
> was contaminated with chloramphenicol has by now been run through the
> new Chinese "ultrafiltration" process.

I understood that the UF process has been in use in the USA for a decade
or so, and, as such, is not exclusively a Chinese idea.  I clearly
recall a NHB rep who attended our Alberta convention, years back,
mentioning the ultrafiltration process in his address to our members,
and lauding UF's ability to remove undesirable properties from honey
that is unattractive due to handling or source, to make it suitable for
industrial use.

I am not certain that the process actually originated in the USA, but
that was the impression I received.  At the time, UF was presented as a
Good Thing, allowing otherwise low-priced melter honey and other
substandard domestic honey to find a market, and encouraging industrial
users who were threatening to abandon honey as an ingredient (aren't
they always?) to buy a uniform and less expensive honey.

Anyhow, I gather that UF has been ongoing, and has only become an issue
due to the uproar about Chinese competition, chloramphenicol, and the
use of UF to circumvent controls.  I wonder how much Chinese -- or other
suspicious honey -- has been UFed right in the good ol' USA in recent
days?

As an interesting aside here, the recent drop in the US dollar is
expected to improve competitiveness in US producers who have been under
intense price pressure from foreign competitors due to the previously
strong dollar.  Nonetheless, this relief may not extend to honey
producers, since the major competitors -- China and Argentina -- align
their currency with the US dollar and thus are expected to continue to
move lower, tracking any drop in the greenback.  There is a chance,
however that those countries may focus their exports more strongly on
Europe and other strong currency areas to increase returns, but the US
remains a major importer, and thus attractive to them.

allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/

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