Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

ocba - Re: [ocba] Fwd: FW: Chinese honey imports plot results in arrests

ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: cpearce AT mycosynthetix.com
  • To: "Dick Merritt" <dickmerritt AT mindspring.com>
  • Cc: OCBA <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Fwd: FW: Chinese honey imports plot results in arrests
  • Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2010 14:24:41 -0400 (EDT)

Can anyone enlighten me about the comment that this was commercial grade
honey which would have been diluted before it reached consumers.
Thanks.
Cedric.



> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: FW: Chinese honey imports plot results in arrests
> Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2010 15:07:48 -0400
> From: mike ross <mross953 AT hotmail.com>
>
> Charles Heatherly alerted us to this story that broke this week:
>
> Dept. of Justice Press release:
> http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2009/pr0506_01.pdf
>
> Honey plot tried to duck $80M in taxes: feds :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES ::
> Chicago Crime
> <http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2666054,honey-import-conspiracy-charges-090210.article>
>
> *US cracks down on Chinese honey smuggling ring*
>
> By Mira Oberman (AFP) – 1 day ago
>
> CHICAGO — The US government announced criminal charges Wednesday against
> executives from six German and Chinese companies accused of smuggling
> antibiotic-tainted Chinese honey in order to avoid import duties.
> Officials said it is the biggest food smuggling case in US history and
> is part of a years-long crackdown on illegal imports of substandard,
> tainted and counterfeit products.
> The accused allegedly conspired to illegally import more than 40 million
> dollars of Chinese-origin honey in order to avoid antidumping duties
> totaling nearly 80 million dollars.
> The case comes after a series of scares involved Chinese products
> including melamine-tainted pet food that killed scores of dogs and cats
> and children's toys made with lead paint.
> Patrick Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of
> Illinois, cautioned that while the honey was tainted with antibiotics
> that are not approved by US regulators for use in honey production,
> there was no reason for the public to "panic."
> "There is no allegation and no reason to believe that any of the honey
> involved in this case had led to any injury or illness," he told
> reporters, adding that the bulk of the imported honey was of a
> commercial grade and would have been diluted before it reached consumers.
> German company Alfred L. Wolff is allegedly at the heart of the
> conspiracy to import the mislabeled honey.
> It allegedly bought low-cost honey from several Chinese suppliers and
> then shipped it to other countries where it was filtered to "remove
> pollen and other trace elements that could indicate that the honey
> originated from China," the 44-count indictment said.
> Some of the honey was also mixed with honey from India to further
> disguise its origin.
> It also allegedly commissioned falsified lab reports in order to hide
> traces of antibiotics in some shipments and then sold them to customers
> it knew would not test the honey upon arrival.
> "The charges allege that these defendants aggressively sought and
> obtained an illegal competitive advantage in the US honey market by
> avoiding payment of more than 78 million dollars in antidumping duties,
> and while doing so deliberately violated US laws designed to protect the
> integrity of our food supply," said Fitzgerald.
> "The defendants distributed adulterated honey that never should have
> reached the US marketplace."
> Six of the 15 people charged in the conspiracy have been arrested and
> have either pled guilty or are cooperating with investigators,
> Fitzgerald said.
> The United States intends to pursue extradition of the remaining suspects.
> The government is seeking a forfeiture of more than 78 million in unpaid
> duties and 39.5 million for the declared value of the 606 illegal
> shipments made between March 2002 and April 2008.
> The criminal charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison and a
> 250,000-dollar fine.
> Ten German nationals were charged: former Alfred L. Wolff chief
> executive Alexander Wolff, 37; Jurgen Becker; Tom Weickert; Marcel
> Belten; Yi Liu, 45, of Beijing; Sven Gehricke, 44; Thomas Marten, 32;
> Thomas Gerkmann, 37; Stephanie Giesselbach, 32, of Chicago; and Magnus
> von Buddenbrock, 35, of Chicago.
> One Chinese national was also charged: Gong Jie Chen, 44, who acted as
> sales manager for defendant QHD Sanhai Honey, a honey producer and
> exporter in Hebei Province, China.
> Alfred L. Wolff, which was acquired by Norevo GmbH in February, and four
> of its subsidiaries also face criminal charges, as does QHD.
> Four Chinese nationals not named in the indictment unsealed Wednesday
> have pled guilty in related charges.
>
>
> Debbie Hamrick
> Director Specialty Crops
> NC Farm Bureau Federation
> PO Box 27766
> Raleigh, NC 27611-7766
> (919) 334-2977
> Cell: (919) 302-9538
> debbie.hamrick AT ncfb.org <mailto:debbie.hamrick AT ncfb.org>
>
> _______________________________________________
> ocba mailing list
> North Carolina Beekeeping
> http://www.theocba.org/


Cedric Pearce Ph.D.
CEO/CSO
Mycosynthetix Inc
505 Meadowlands Drive Suite 103
Hillsborough NC 27278
919 245 0600
919 630 9335 cell





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page