Dive Brief:
- Groeb Farms, one of the largest honey suppliers in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy Tuesday.
- The Michigan honey processor was caught in a Homeland Security sting known as Project Honeygate due to its buying relationship with Germany's ALW, which was illegally importing cheap, adulterated honey from China.
- Groeb Farms entered a deferred prosecution agreement, paid $2 million in fines and agreed to discard all of its Chinese honey—consequences that, combined with its falling behind on a bank loan, were too much for the company.
Dive Insight:
Groeb now has a reorganization plan in the works that will see $27 million of debt being forgiven and a Texas private equity firm assuming control. That the adulterated honey came from China is likely to provide little comfort to consumers, as the country has unfortunately become known for its food scandals.