Schumer speaks out against 'honey laundering'

Copyright © 2010 Finger Lakes Times - www.fltimes.com. All rights reserved ^ | Thursday, June 10, 2010 11:56 AM CDT | by SEAN McCRACKEN/smccracken@fltimes.com

[Behind Liberal Lines]

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is calling for a crackdown on a unique brand of laundering.

Not money or drug laundering, but honey.

Schumer, D-N.Y., announced yesterday that his office will press Immigrations and Custom Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the Food and Drug Administration to more stringently regulate mislabeled honey brought into the country and the state by Chinese exporters.

Almost 10 years ago, Chinese honey became the subject of special taxes when it was found that Chinese honey traders were engaging in what Schumer called “predatory trade practices.” Schumer said, since then, those traders have gone to extraordinary lengths to circumvent those taxes to the tune of $100 to $200 million annually.

Methods used to avoid the taxes include intentionally mislabeling honey shipments with the wrong country of origin, setting up shell corporations and shipping through other countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

According to Schumer, that hurts beekeepers in New York, which is the 12th largest honey producer in the country.

“This trans-shipping or ‘honey laundering’ — that is, the intentional mislabeling of the country of origin — is costing the U.S. millions of dollars in unpaid duties and putting consumers at risk from honey contaminated with antibiotics, a problem common with Chinese honey,” Schumer said in a letter to FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg.

In 2009, New York apiaries produced over 3 million pounds of honey and made about $5.3 million in sales, but Schumer said that the industry is still being hurt by cheap honey from China.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Boy, I don't know about you, but I was laying awake at night worrying about this. (rolls eyes)

[rep-always]

Yep, giving me nightmares.

[Red Badger]

If you had an allergy to honey, you would.............

[Thurston_Howell_III]

its on his honey do list

[a fool in paradise]

Buy local honey, it’s supposed to help you against local allergies.

[Red in Blue PA]

Personally, I try to buy all my food Made in the USA.

God help us if (when?) we become dependent for our food.

[goldfinch]

I try to avoid all food imported from China.

[rarestia]

Local honey is MUCH better for you. We started buying local honey two years ago and never went back. It’s only anecdotal, but I swear my allergies are not as bad this year as they have been in years past.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

[<1/1,000,000th%]

We’re trillions of dollars in the hole and he’s worried about a couple million dollars.

At least he’s helping his constituents.

[edpc]

I thought this was going to be an article on how members of Congress hide and pay off their mistresses.

[Cicero]

Actually, it’s probably full of pollutants, considering the rest of the stuff China sends us. Good for Chuckie.

[Drango]

Can’t Schumer focus on important things like regulating college football and nasal spray restrictions.

[Sir_Ed]

I’m glad he’s doing this.

The domestic honey industry is being destroyed by the Red Chinese fraudulent practices.

Ed

[Red Badger]

I always thought that was the stupidest skit they ever did............

[Honorary Serb]

http://www.homebrewers.com/category/beerm/

Buy Arizona honey! Satisfy your sweet tooth while supporting Arizona!!!!

[Red Badger]

I live in Florida. We have our own honey industry.............

[Beeman]

From what I have learned, there is no such thing as an allergy to honey—it would be like being allergic to sugar. Honey can make you throw-up if you eat too much in a sitting, but allergies—I don't believe it. The warnings required to be placed on honey really goes to infants, and it is not the honey, but the possible minute amounts of an organism which can be transferred from equipment to the top of the honey if the honey processor is extremely sloppy. Just a little input from a beekeeper. As to the Chinese honey, it is crap. Here in Fl, we are the first to push the state to regulate honey imports because the Chinese honey has been tainted with antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, and mixed with corn syrup.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

[loveliberty2]

This article is a reminder of investigative reports from the 2001 - 2003 era when the honey trade was cited as having been a method of funding for the terrorists see . A google search of "honey" and "terrorism" turns up other such info. Guess such a sweet and simple subject can sometimes have stickier implications.