83 Pct of Royal Jelly Arriving in Italy Contaminated

ANSA, 1/31/2006

(ANSA) - Florence, January 31 - A total 83 pct of the royal jelly arriving to the Italian borders is found to be contaminated with antibiotics, Italian zoological institute in Teramo, central Italy, said.

Italy has been importing royal jelly chiefly from China in the last three years. China is the world largest producer of royal jelly with an average 1.0 million kg per year.

The average annual consumption of royal jelly in Italy totals 400 quintals but only 3.0 pct of the consumption is covered by Italian products.

There are no apposite regulations regarding the production and the trade in royal jelly in Italy and this fact makes possible the sale of dangerous products, the chairman of the organic food and honey producers consortium Conapi, Lucio Cavazzoni, said. . .