Damaged packaging and bad hygienic state of natural honey from Ukraine detected in Poland in a border control.

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Community legislation which introduces maximum residue limits of pesticides that can be found in foods consumed in all Member States entered into force today. The objective of the legislation, adopted in 2005, is to ensure that 'pesticide residues in food are as low as possible and have no harmful effects' for European consumers, said Commissioner of Health, Androulla Vassiliou. The new European regulation covers approximately 1,100 employees pesticides or previously employed in the agricultural sector within and outside the European Union and establishing 'levels of pesticide residues maximum' for 315 agricultural products. The new law introduces maximum levels taking into account the safety of all segments of the population. 'The food produced or imported from a Member State should be safe for consumers in all of them,' stressed the commissioner.

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Rowse Honey Ltd ( http://www.rowsehoney.co.uk/) confirmed its commitment to invest £100,000 ( US$ 200,000) in honey bee health research over the next three years.

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A new strain of a serious bee disease has just been identified in Tasmania. The island state already has the European strain of nosema, but this week the more serious Asian strain was confirmed. It's also been found in mainland Australia. President of the Tasmanian Beekeepers Association, Julian Woolfhagen, says the disease can cause whole hives to collapse in the space of a week, and it's unlikely beekeepers can get rid of it.

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The honey production this year will not be higher than 7,000 tonnes because of the drought that affected most of the areas planted with lime and acacia trees associated with high costs, vicepresident of the Romanian Bee Keepers? Association (ACAR) Petru Moraru told. 'If in a normal year the honey production stands at 15,000-20,000 tonnes, this year the production will be lower. I estimate that it will be around 30-35% of this quantity

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