Spain: 11 people investigated for marketing 40 tons of organic honey contaminated with pesticides from China

Published 2024년 8월 3일

Tridge summary

Operation Matrihoney, led by the Civil Guard and the Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) in Spain, has resulted in the investigation of 11 individuals for selling over 40 tons of illegal honey. This honey, originally from China, contained excessive pesticide levels, beyond the European Union's limits, posing a health risk to consumers. The company under investigation allegedly forged documentation to bypass health checks and was caught mixing the contaminated Chinese honey with honey from Europe to reduce the pesticide concentration. The operation also uncovered the fraudulent labeling of organic honey as such, despite being imported from China. The case has been referred to the Court of First Instance and Instruction Number 1 of Paterna (Valencia) and involves charges of belonging to a criminal organization, document falsification, and endangering public health.

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Original content

The Civil Guard, within the framework of Operation Matrihoney, has investigated 11 people for marketing more than 40 tons of honey, of Chinese origin, which exceeded the maximum amount of pesticide authorized in Europe, which would imply a risk to the health of people. The company investigated would have falsified documentation to try to circumvent health controls. The product contained an amount of pesticide that exceeded the maximum residue limits allowed by health authorities. Furthermore, this imported honey was marketed as certified organic honey. Citizen collaboration allowed the start of investigations in 2022, bringing to the attention of the agents of the Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) possible irregularities committed by one of the largest companies in the sector in Spain dedicated to the import and export of honey to international level. The civil guards then carried out the dumping and analysis of the company's files (a total of 250,000 files and more than 5,000 ...

Source: Agroclm