U.S. SEIZES MORE HONEY TAINTED WITH ANTIBIOTIC
February 5, 2003
Reuters

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was cited as saying on
Wednesday that nearly 185,000 pounds of honey imports were seized in Texas
because of contamination with a human antibiotic banned from U.S. food
products.

The containers of honey seized from "Unnamed Suspect" in Texas
contained traces of chloramphenicol, an antibiotic drug used by physicians
as a last resort to treat life-threatening infections. The drug is not
widely used because it can cause a disease known as aplastic anemia, in
which the body's bone marrow stops making enough healthy blood cells.
Chloramphenicol is prohibited in all U.S. food and animal feed products by
the FDA.

The seized honey was stored in 266 drums, each containing 639 pounds, and
five totes, each weighing 3,000 pounds, the FDA said.