US seizes shipments of contaminated Chinese honey
Date: 30-Aug-02
Country: US
Some of the bulk honey tested positive for a rarely used human antibiotic, chloramphenicol, which can trigger a fatal blood disorder in a small number of people, Customs said.
The antibiotic is used only to treat life-threatening infections when other drugs are not available because it can cause a disease known as aplastic anemia, in which the bone marrow stops making enough healthy blood cells. The Food and Drug Administration prohibits chloramphenicol in all U.S. food and animal feed products.
There have been no reports of illnesses caused by Chinese honey shipments, the government said. It did not say how the honey came to be contaminated with the substance.
Customs began investigating in June after U.S. officials were tipped off that Chinese bulk honey was being illegally transshipped through Thailand to the United States. The stop in Thailand was intended to circumvent payment of anti-dumping duties on Chinese honey imports required by the U.S. Commerce Department, the government said.
"This investigation should serve notice that U.S. Customs will not tolerate unfair trading practices, especially those that pose potential health risks to the American public," U.S. Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner said in a statement.
The U.S. Commerce Department imposed anti-dumping duties of 34 percent to 184 percent in May 2001 after American honey producers complained that China sold its product at below-cost.
The Customs Service said it suspects that some Chinese honey was also shipped to the United States through Australia, Mexico, Malaysia and Vietnam to avoid anti-dumping duties.
Customs said 50 containers of honey have been seized so far and "additional enforcement activity is anticipated in the investigation."
Since it discovered chloramphenicol in some Chinese honey shipments, Customs has been stopping all suspect bulk imports of honey for testing.
Similar contamination of honey has been found by food inspectors in Canada, Germany and Britain.
