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The global bee industry continues to grow, as the demand for honey, bee pollen, Royal Jelly, propolis, and beeswax skyrockets. In the last decade, China's exports of honey and Royal Jelly have grown to tremendous levels, but are these supplies safe?

In 2002, the governments of the U.S., Canada, and Europe found that samples of Chinese honey and Royal Jelly had traces of chloramphenicol, a antibiotic carncinogenic that is banned from food products in many countries, including the U.S.

Chinese honey scandals

Stung by recent scandals over tainted food exports, some Chinese beekeepers are trying to clean up local honey production. They're throwing out standard practices, such as using antibiotics to treat their colonies, while pushing natural options. But the "old guard" (the multi-million ton honey producers) is using violence in its attempts to prevent change, both politically and even resorting to physically attacking "clean" producers, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Most Chinese bee farmers aren't looking to raise their standards-they just want to make money. The use of antibiotics in bee hives is a widespread practice in many countries, including China. The practice escalated in 1997 when China's bee hives were infected with bacteria - thus causing honey and Royal Jelly exports to drop by 30%. At the time, China had loose controls and regulations over antibiotics and beekeepers around the country chose chlorampheicol.

"Dumping" Chinese honey on American shores

Complicating the matter for American consumers is the fact that Chinese honey often sells for less than U.S.-produced products. Part of the reason for this is that China is intent on recapturing the huge honey market share it lost in the late 1990's by "dumping" metric-tons on the world market at prices lower than the production costs.

To thwart the illegal dumping, U.S. beekeepers filed an official suit against Chinese dumping practices in September 2000. The U.S. government responded by tacking a high tariff onto honey from China, which brought its market price into a reasonable range with American products. However, to overcome the tariff barriers, Chinese honey companies would export their products via other countries, with the hopes of hiding the honey's country of origin.

Detecting carcinogens in Chinese honey

In order to stop the Chinese honey makers from disguising their origins, the American government enacted tests and in the process, they found samples of chloramphenicol. Subsequently, other countries followed suit, and many countries banned Chinese honey starting in 2002.

Are Chinese honey regulations sufficient?

To open the trading gates of honey once again, the Chinese government has begun to regulate chloramphenicol. However, the problem U.S. consumers face is that the very people doing the "safe-guarding" are the same ones that were protecting us from lead-based paints and contaminated pet foods that spread through U.S. retail outlets for months (or years) before anyone noticed.

To their credit, Chinese regulatory authorities are serious about improving the "Made in China" label, but it's a daunting task. Given the sheer quantity of products moving out of China, it's virtually impossible to regulate every single processor. In fact, it was only two minor unlicensed manufacturers that caused the pet food disaster that killed thousands of American cats and dogs.

In time, China will get a handle on the quality control elements of its agricultural exports. But even in the best cases, there are barriers. And given their specific history with honey products, it might be a good idea for American consumers to remain wary of bee products imported from China. Stick with American produced honey, and you can enjoy the delicious, healthy, and wonderful benefits of Royal Jelly - worry free!

Steve Crimmens edits the website: http://www.saferjelly.com/articles.html

The website contains interesting articles about the benefits of royal jelly.

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