"Food-safety experts have found that much of the honey sold in the United States isn't actually honey, but a concoction of corn or rice syrup, malt sweeteners or 'jiggery' (cheap, unrefined sugar), plus a small amount of genuine honey, according to Wired UK.

Worse, some honey — much of which is imported from Asia — has been found to contain toxins like lead and other heavy metals, as well as drugs like chloramphenicol, an antibiotic, according to a Department of Justice news release.

And because cheap honey from China was being dumped on the U.S. market at artificially low prices, Chinese honey is now subject to additional import duties. So Chinese exporters simply ship their honey to Thailand or other countries, where it is relabeled to hide its origins, according to NPR.org.

This international 'honey-laundering' scandal has now resulted in a Justice Department indictment of two U.S. companies and the charging of five people with selling mislabeled honey that also contained chloramphenicol.

Honey Solutions of Baytown, Texas, and Groeb Farms of Onsted, Mich., have agreed to pay millions of dollars in fines and implement corporate compliance measures following a lengthy Justice Department investigation.

'This is a huge deal for the industry. This is the first admission by a U.S. packer,' of knowingly importing mislabeled honey, Eric Wenger, chairman of True Source Honey, told NPR. True Source Honey is an industry consortium with an auditing system to guarantee the actual origin of honey.

Honey isn't the only food product subject to impurities and mislabeling. Olive oil is often cut with cheaper oils and sold at premium prices, a practice that's expected to expand as a shortage of the oil (caused by a 2012 drought in southern Europe) hits global markets."


'Honey Laundering' an International Scandal, Experts Say
Marc Lallanilla

"Honey bees are flourishing in Texas after a long drought has eased in parts of the state, reviving beekeepers' fortunes—and inflicting pain on unlucky Texans who have stumbled on hives in unwanted places.

The resurgence means Texas could dispatch more and better bees across the nation to help pollinate crops such as almonds next year. Some 80% of Texas beekeepers load their charges onto trucks and ship them to California and other states.

Bee specialists say that if Texas bees remain strong, they might help offset colony losses in some other states currently undergoing dry spells, such as Montana and the Dakotas, which contribute to the national pollination circuit.

The Texas bee revival also comes as the nation's honey bees have been sharply declining in recent years from colony-collapse disorder, a phenomenon scientists are still trying to understand. Bee health improved somewhat this winter nationwide, researchers say, perhaps because of the unusually warm temperatures in many areas.

The downside of Texas's turnaround is that honeycombs are showing up almost everywhere—in roof eaves and walls, within water meters and boats, and in one case on the eighth-floor pool deck of a hotel in downtown Austin."

Not All Texans Enjoy a Bee Revival
By ANA CAMPOY

"An attack by a swarm of Africanized bees that sent one man to the hospital and closed down a road for several hours Wednesday has authorities urging caution around the insects, saying they could be more active this summer than in recent years.The colony responsible for Wednesday's attack was colossal — as many as 125,000 aggressive bees living on 120 pounds of honeycomb in a warehouse off Rowe Lane. The bees stung three employees at the warehouse — including one up to 300 times, sending him to the hospital — and a Pflugerville police officer. Authorities closed Rowe Lane at FM 685 from about 8 a.m. to noon until the hive could be located and dealt with.

The attack was the worst this year and follows a bee attack Monday in West Austin that caused the victim to go into shock while he was driving himself to the hospital and caused him to crash into a pedestrian, several cars and a house."

Man sent to hospital after swarm of bees attacks
By Benjamin Wermund