THE BEEKEEPERS association yesterday accused the state of encouraging beekeepers to use the antibiotics recently found in honey declared unsuitable for human consumption.
The beekeeper’s charge was supported by the Green party, who said antibiotics used in beekeeping are imported with the permission of the state – despite the European Union having banned it in 1999.
“Even now, the pharmaceutical Teramycin is imported with permission from the state and sold for use in beekeeping, while the EU stopped approving it since December 1999,” Green party official Ioanna Panayiotou said.
Panayiotou said the authorities should have warned beekeepers to stop use of any kind of antibiotic and suggest alternative ways of tacking disease without pharmaceuticals as well as removing the residues from the honey and the hives.
But instead of doing so, “the Agriculture Ministry continued, through the Agrotis magazines, even in 2005, to suggest the use of antibiotics to beekeepers”.
“There was not residue programme, resulting in the beekeepers not knowing that the use of the pharmaceuticals suggested by the state was not allowed, nor that it left residues,” Panayiotou said.
Unlike animal products, the EU has not set any standards concerning the acceptable levels of antibiotics in honey.
Due to this, any trace of antibiotic found in honey renders the product unsuitable for human consumption.
No research has been done so no one knows what the safety levels are, Panayiotou said.
The beekeepers’ association however, claimed last week that the amount of antibiotic found in honey was less that the respective amount in milk.
The health services countered that the EU law clearly forbade the existence of any antibiotics.
In a written statement yesterday, the beekeepers censured the government for encouraging the use of antibiotics since 1995.
“They wrongly proposed the use of antibiotics and did not inform us of the possible negative consequences and for ten years they left Cypriot citizens exposed to the nutrition danger they raise today,” the written statement said.
The beekeepers further charged that in 2002 the health ministry had allowed the import of 20 tonnes of Chinese honey without any checks, when such imports were banned by a January 30, 2002, directive, which ordered their immediate destruction.
Agriculture Minister Timis Efthymiou said it was unfair to accuse the ministry for not informing beekeepers.
A special leaflet discussing the way of fighting bee disease was issued in 1999, he added.
Efthymiou yesterday met the beekeepers’ association and decided to appoint a committee to record all their problems and suggest ways to solve them.
According to a written statement, the association stressed that recent developments had caused substantial damage to their trade, demanding measures to rectify the situation.
The Green party suggested that beekeepers should be encouraged to go organic, in line with legislation passed in 2001.
But none of the around 650 beekeepers have embarked on the programme, which, according to the Greens, confirmed the lack of information from the state.
One of the main problems any beekeeper who chose to go organic would be facing, is the two-kilometre rule, imposed by the EU.
According to the rule, any bee colony should be at least two kilometres away from any cultivation, which is especially difficult in Cyprus due to the island’s small size.
Honey can be certified organic if it meets several conditions including no medications or chemicals are ever used in the hive.
Bees are known to travel several miles to collect nectar and pollen.
Panayiotou suggested that the government should have fought for an exemption during the accession negotiations.
In any case there are several areas on the island that organic beekeeping would be possible, she said.
