Importhoney, Polluted Food From China

Organic label for apiaries pure consumer deception? Groceries (meat from pork and poultry, honey) imported from China are sometimes so contaminated with ecologically harmful chemicals and animal medicine like Chloramphenicol (destroys nerve system of children), that the EU needs to stop the import of animal produce, especially honey from time to time

Some apiaries suppose to improve the quality of their products by an „organic label", for others  it is more likely a change for the worse.

They think the national „organic label" is good for deceiving oneself and customers, as there is an increasing tendency to weaken the nation's organic food standards in response to pressure from large-scale food manufacturers:

„Recently Republican leaders in Congress attached a rider to the 2006 Agricultural Appropriations Bill to weaken the nation's organic food standards in response to pressure from large-scale food manufacturers. The process was profoundly undemocratic and the end result is a serious setback for the multi billion dollar alternative food and farming system that the organic community has so painstakingly built up over the past 35 years. Now are allowed: Numerous synthetic food additives and processing aids, including over 500 food contact substances, to be used in organic foods without public review. Young dairy cows to continue to be treated with antibiotics and fed genetically engineered feed prior to being converted to organic production. Loopholes under which non-organic ingredients could be substituted for organic ingredients without any notification of the public based on "emergency decrees."  (OB #68)

Regarding honey labeled according the national „organic label" it is similar or even worse. A large company in Germany who offers this kind of honey is the importer „Honigimporteur Walter Lang GmbH". He is able to store more than 5000 tons honey of different kinds and origins. He is specialized in importing of honey in socalled „organic quality". The products are being labeled with the national German „Bio-Siegel" or the „Bioland-seal". The honey may be produced in it’s country of origin somehow naturally; here in Germany the honey needs to go through a trial of „homogenisation" or in other words: it gets through a bad period: In two large production halls are waiting „gigantic double wanded and heated stirring machines for treatment and homogenisation of imported honey" (iT-Magazin 3/05, p. 28). If the honey has passed this procedure, it’ll receive rather unceremoniously the magisterially enacted national German „Bio-Siegel".

Imported honey which got through a bad period in a large industrial plant can of course be offered rather cheap at market: „We have a relaxing effect on honeymarket - Allos cuts prices" (S&K10/05)

Why has there been „overload problems" and a production bottleneck regarding honey since the year 2002? The reason is: groceries (meat from pork and poultry, honey) imported from China are sometimes so contaminated with ecologically harmful chemicals and animal medicine like Chloramphenicol in honey, that the EU needs to stop the import of animal produce, especially honey from time to time. Now as the EU abolished the restrictions, Allos is able to cut prices.