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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Allen Dick <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 23 Mar 2001 23:20:22 -0700
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> Imported honey into South Africa is indeed required by law to be irradiated
> to destroy any possible traces of AFB and EFB, two diseases we don't have
> and can do without.

I think a lot of people in North America are starting to wish that our
authorities had been blessed with that much foresight as beekeepers look in
their hives and find a new variant of AFB taking over.  Our experts knew that
resistant AFB was in South America, yet no effort was made to use simple
existing technology to test incoming honey from the areas in question.
Contaminated honey was welcomed throughout North America and some beekeepers
even let their bees lick out empty drums.  SAFB looks exactly like normal AFB,
and it took a while -- and some analysis -- to recognise that something new was
happening.  I am sure the disease will be found in all honey importing countries
now -- if they care to look.

The ongoing hoof and mouth experience and the BSE situation are a lesson in how
quickly indiscriminate international trade can spread an unusual local
infections and mutant strains worldwide, although I suspect that we will
eventually learn there is much more to the hoof and mouth story that we are
currently being told.  I also expect we will have a worldwide human pandemic one
of these days and be powerless to stop it without compromising drastically on
some of our libertarian and free trading ideals.

Back to the topic: I wonder exactly how the irradiation takes place when honey
does enter SA?  I can see sending honey in small plastic retail packs down a
radiation line, but cannot imagine drums undergoing the process due to size and
the container material.

Honey severely diminishes or stops entirely the electron beam radiation that is
currently being used to clean up equipment contaminated with SAFB in Canada, and
combs must be free of honey to be effectively sterilized.  Honey offers only a
little less resistance to the beam than steel.  Perhaps longer duration or
two-sided methods might work.   I understand that there are some plants that can
indeed get better penetration using cobalt radiation or other methods, but such
plants are not available everywhere.  The cost is also quite high, about $5 per
super.  What would the cost be for honey?  Would it make the import impractical?

Treatment must be 100.0000% effective or it is a waste of time and money.
Radiation plants have quality control measures in place, but then again, human
beings work there and they also use computers...

allen

http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/
---
If you are sending someone some Styrofoam, what do you pack it in? -- Steven
Wright

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