Tainted Honey Hits American Shelves.

Authorities have reason to believe that millions of pounds of tainted honey produced in China has been brought into the US market through India.

The honey is believed to contain dangerous lead and animal antibiotics. The antibiotic found in the honey is called “Chloramphenicol” and has been linked to fatal reactions in 1 out of 30,000 people who consume it as well as an increased risk of cancer.

Unregulated Chinese honey is illegal to import so sellers in Asia are routing the dirt cheap product through India and selling to honey bottlers in the U.S. The U.S. companies buy the cheap tainted product because they can get away with it. The FDA currently does not have a system in place to test honey for contaminants and there are no plans for one in the future. At this time, the FDA and the U.S. Congress are still debating the definition of what actually constitutes honey and until that’s defined, regulations won’t even be close to existing.

It is unclear how much of the 400 million pounds of honey consumed by Americans every year is tainted with lead and antibiotics. What is clear is that U.S. honey companies are getting a sweet deal on tainted Chinese honey at the expense of the American consumer and no one seems to be speaking out.