‘Honey laundering’ — Oh bother, what would Pooh think?

Image from Flickr user calafellvalo.

This is a crime that I had never even considered, let along worried about: honey laundering. Yes, it’s got a slick name, but the problem appears real:

The honey business is plagued with international intrigue, where foreign hucksters and shady importers sometimes rip off conscientious packers with Chinese honey diluted with cheap sugar syrup or tainted with illegal antibiotics.

That from the Seattle P-I, which conducted a five -month investigation into the problems with honey in Washington state — as well as delving into Canada, which doesn’t get off scot-free. Rather, although the series says that Canadian-made honey is generally pretty good, and we even have some authentic organic honey (which Washington does not), the problem with Canada is that it’s used as a third-party waystation in order to obscure the origin of antibiotics-laced Chinese honey:

“Truck drivers tell us about bringing full semi loads of foreign honey across the border to packers in our state and Oregon. That honey didn’t come from Canadian bees, but it’s sold with a label saying ‘from U.S. and Canadian honey.’ “

Literally, “honey laundering.” Now that’s what I’d call ‘a sticky situation.’

There’s lots to read in the P-I special report — eight good stories. Makes me re-think my appreciation for honey, a little bit. But what am I going to switch to, peanut butter?