CHINESE and blended honey on sale in West Devon is to be withdrawn following tests which revealed traces of an illegal antibiotic drug.

The Food Standards Agency began testing honey as a result of concerns about a lack of control in the use of veterinary drugs in China.

A meeting of independent scientific experts concluded that the level of this antibiotic in

honey posed an extremely small risk to public health.

However, it is illegal and undesirable for honey to carry such antibiotics and the agency has issued a food hazard warning calling for the withdrawal of jars of Chinese and blended honey on sale in the UK.

The agency advises consumers that, given the small risk, they can continue to eat any honey they have already bought, irrespective of country of origin.

This advice also applies to other foods that contain honey, where the potential health risk is even lower.