"Seven cars with darkened windows barreled east toward the Cascades, whizzing past this Snohomish County hamlet's smattering of shops and eateries. The sedans and sport utility vehicles stirred up dust as they rolled into the parking lot of Pure Foods Inc., a Washington honey producer. Out popped a dozen people in dark windbreakers identifying them as feds -- agents from Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some raced to the loading docks. Others hurried through the front door. All were armed. The man who runs the business, Mike Ingalls, was stunned. "I just sell honey -- what the hell is this all about?" he remembered asking, as he was hustled into a tiny room with his office manager and truck driver." - Cee Bee via Bookmarklet

Three days before the April 25 raid, customs had persuaded a federal judge in Seattle to issue the search warrant shoved in Ingalls' hands. But it wasn't until Ingalls read "Attachment D" that he understood why investigators were seizing his business records, passport, phone logs, photographs, Rolodexes, mail and computer files -- almost anything that could be copied or hauled away.He was suspected of trafficking in counterfeit merchandise -- a honey smuggler. A far cry from the innocent image of Winnie the Pooh with a paw stuck in the honey pot, the international honey trade has become increasingly rife with crime and intrigue. In the U.S., where bee colonies are dying off and demand for imported honey is soaring, traders of the thick amber liquid are resorting to elaborate schemes to dodge tariffs and health safeguards in order to dump cheap honey on the market, a five-month Seattle P-I investigation has found. - Cee Bee

really interesting and detailed piece on the subject - Cee Bee

"Since 2002, FDA has issued three "import alerts" to inspectors at ports and border crossings to detain shipments of tainted Chinese honey. The order in 2002 came after Canadian and European food-safety agents seized more than 80 shipments containing chloramphenicol, which can cause serious illness or death among a very small percentage of people exposed to it. In March 2007, U.S. officials revised the alert when Florida food detectives found two other antibiotics -- iprofloxacin and Enrofloxacin -- in honey and blends of honey syrup that originated from China. Last month, FDA also warned that corn or cane sugar may be adulterated -- loaded with honey to increase its bulk or weight and market value." - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

Tainted honey is one thing, there are people who choose to not consume it. But tainted corn sugar and possibly corn syrup? Yeah, that could wind up on almost anyone's dinner table. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

Wow, just wow... are you serious? - Nicholas Kreidberg

Actually, a lot of the fruit/veg/nut industry relies on trucked in bee colonies for pollination. Especially now that bee blight have taken down so many hives. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

This is not something I would ever have imagined. And this whole bee blight may have a devastating effect on food production around the world. -

It's horrible, Jill. My grandfather raised bees for years until he lost all his hives to blight. I'm fortunate that there's a bee farm in the next county so I can get what I know is local honey (not just uncontaminated, but also helpful for preventing allergies). The lack of bees is why several home gardeners have resorted to pollinating their plants by hand... - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

I didn't know that. And I can't live without almonds. Do scientists have any idea yet why this is happening? -

Here's a great PDF about it http://www.honey.com/downloa... Apparently the USDA estimates 80% of insect crop pollination is due to bees. Other crops that require bees for pollination are alfalfa seed, apple, avocado, blueberry, cantaloupe, cherry, cranberry, cucumber, honeydew, kiwi fruit, pear, plum, sunflower, vegetable seed, watermelon. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)