When I was sick and my throat was sore, I wanted to drink lots of tea with honey. It seemed like something that would be soothing. I went into my kitchen and realized I no longer had any honey from the last time I was sick. I went downstairs to Safeway to get some more. As many of you know, honey is expensive. Safeway had many different brands on sale, most of them local but all quite pricey. Then I noticed one particular brand was noticeably cheaper than the rest. I didn’t look at it too closely, other than seeing the words “Canada” and “pasteurized” on the front. I was in a hurry to make some tea, so this brand of honey it was.
After making my first cup of lovely honey-infused tea, I looked at the back of the bottle of honey. It was there I realized why this brand was cheaper than the rest. The contents were a blend of Canadian and Chinese honey. That made me worried because I’m always wary of any imported foodstuffs from China. Growing up, my parents told my sister and I that food in China is much more prone to making people sick because of a shocking lack of regulations and ethics. I always assume that any foodstuffs from China will contain either lead and/or some dangerous chemical.
Curious, I went and Googled “Chinese honey”. Many results came back and I was not surprised by the contents in the following article. For those short one time, a relevant quote tells us that “much of China’s honey production is tainted with pesticides, antibiotics, and heavy metal contamination”. Great. While there’s no evidence that the honey that’s in my bottle is tainted, I don’t think I’ll be buying this brand again.
I’d recommend that you stay away from most foodstuff imported from China, it’s just safer that way.