A Saskatchewan beekeeper who lost $80,000 after paint chips were found in honey shipped to the United States is disputing U.S. Food and Drug Administration findings.
John Hilbert, who maintains 4,000 hives at Humboldt, said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency accepted those findings, effectively blocking the return of his honey to him.
The entire shipment of 62, 45-gallon drums of honey bound for California in September 2007 was disposed of at an abandoned mine shaft in Arizona last December, at Hilbert’s expense.
“It was treated like toxic waste,” said Hilbert, who has been in the honey business for 30 years and never before tested negative.
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“I am a Canadian company, a Canadian taxpayer and they treated me like the public has to be protected from us,” he said.
When Hilbert’s tests at an independent lab were negative, he asked for the honey to be returned so he could investigate whether the problem was confined to one or two of the drums.
He also hoped to use the honey as bee feed but was told irradiating the drums had to happen first. Hilbert was unable to find a facility to handle the job.
Hilbert’s honey, all of which is exported to the U.S., is now on an import alert list.
Five consecutive loads must be tested and deemed free of contaminants before that can be lifted. The cost per load for Hilbert is $750.
His five subsequent loads have all tested negative but officials did not lift the alert on the grounds that they were shipped during too short a time span.
He hired a lawyer to try to recover the original honey shipment but the judged sided with the CFIA and FDA’s position.
Upset with CFIA’s “unreasonable decision” and handling of his case, Hilbert will now seek compensation for his losses.
The CFIA declined to comment because a legal case is pending.
