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  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Fwd: FW: Chinese honey imports plot results in arrests
  • Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:18:40 -0400

I assume this means that this was "bakers grade" honey which will be used as an ingredient in any number of products, such as "Honey Nut Cheerios" etc. Since so little honey goes into things named "Honey {something}" at the grocery story, the suggestion is that even with nasties in this batch, you and me would be eating an incredibly small amount of it.

Randall

On 9/4/2010 2:24 PM, cpearce AT mycosynthetix.com wrote:
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>

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

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