Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and others who sell imported honey have a looming crisis on their hands. This week Swiss scientists realised a report 75 percent of the worlds honey is contaminated by neonicotinoids. Honey importers that blend cheap bulk honey from China , Brazil , Argentina ,Mexico, Australia ought to be concerned not only on the effect these chemicals are having on bees but also honey consumers. “Neonicotinoids are pesticides that are extremely toxic: something like 4,000 to 10,000 times more toxic than DDT " Often bulk cheap honey is collected on gmo crops like Canola that have been treated with Bayer's neonicotinoids and Monsanto's glyphosate. Chinese beekeepers are renowned for feeding their bees corn syrups and sugars that also contain neonicotinoids. "What this shows is the magnitude of the contamination," said study lead author Edward Mitchell, a biology professor at the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, adding that there are "relatively few places where we did not find any." Results varied by region. In North America, 86 percent of samples had the pesticide; Asia, 80 percent; Europe, where there's a partial ban, 79 percent; Africa 73 percent; the Australian region, 71 percent and South America, 57 percent. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/05/honey-tests-reveal-global-contamination-by-bee-harming-pesticides In Australia consumers have been attempting to safeguard themselves from consuming agricultural chemicals by meeting their local beekeepers https://goo.gl/E9BjH9 The honeymap has been viewed over 300000 times and is giving small apiaries in pristine areas a chance to thrive. Most small apiaries don't pollinate GMO crops. The United Nations explains we can feed the world without these agricultural chemicals and we have to return to sustainable practices utilising small scale localised farming. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/07/un-experts-denounce-myth-pesticides-are-necessary-to-feed-the-world Questions for consumers of honey. Is this honey imported? Avoid imported honey. Have the bees that produced this honey been subjected to neonicotinoids and glyphosate on monoculture crops ? Eg Almond , Canola Look for raw honey from pristine areas away from broad acre agriculture. Eg Raw Eucalyptus honey, Tea tree honey, Manuka honey.