Illegal Honey Trafficking?

by: Jill Richardson

Sun Jan 04, 2009 at 02:24:45 AM PST

• Big shipments of contaminated honey from China are frequently laundered in other countries -- an illegal practice called "transshipping" -- in order to avoid U.S.import fees, protective tariffs or taxes imposed on foreign products that intentionally undercut domestic prices.
• In a series of shipments in the past year, tons of honey produced in China passed through the ports of Tacoma and Long Beach, Calif., after being fraudulently marked as a tariff-free product of Russia.
• Tens of thousands of pounds of honey entering the U.S. each year come from countries that raise few bees and have no record of producing honey for export.
• The government promises intense scrutiny of honey crossing our borders but only a small fraction is inspected, and seizures and arrests remain rare.
• The feds haven't adopted a legal definition of honey, making it difficult for enforcement agents to keep bad honey off the shelves.

More headlines:
Antibiotic use could taint honey's reputation as a miracle drug
Experts call for better U.S. standards for honey
U.S. honey producers don't have it easy, and some say industry board isn't helping
Don't let claims on honey labels dupe you: If it's made in America, it's likely not organic

If your farmers' market is like mine, you can get some fantastic honey there. Given how sleezy the larger global industry appears based on these articles, it's a relief to know I can buy truly organic and truly local honey from people I know and trust.

Supply and demand in the land of COOL

by: Joanne Rigutto

Thu Jan 01, 2009 at 08:59:54 AM PST

Mexico Stops Importing U.S. Meat

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Dec 29, 2008 at 16:00:00 PM PST

Mexico Suspends U.S. Meat Imports

Mexico has suspended meat imports from 30 processing plants in 14 states, including Smithfield Packing Inc., which is based in North Carolina.

The news was released on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Web site.

Smithfield is the world's largest pork slaughterhouse.

According to the Associated Press, other companies that will be affected by this move are Tyson Foods, Inc., Cargill Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc., and Swift Foods Inc.

The ban could greatly affect Tyson because high feed prices have already strained its profits and Mexico represented 23 percent of its international sales in 2008.

Authorities believe the suspensions may be in retaliation for the U.S. putting a country-of-origin labeling law into effect earlier this year in response to concerns the safety of imports.

The country-of-origin labeling law mandates the separation of foreign cattle and pigs in U.S. feedlots and packing plants.  Foreign animals are also now required to have more documentation about where they come from and have tags that indicate they are free of mad cow disease.