Server LOAD_FILE

[craig hamilton]

Hi,
I'm attempting to use LOAD_FILE on my web host's server. All of the conditions for it to execute are in place yet it still returns NULL. Here are my privileges etc.
+------------------+-------+
| Variable_name | Value |
+------------------+-------+
| secure_file_priv | |
+------------------+-------+

+--------------------+----------+
| Variable_name | Value |
+--------------------+----------+
| max_allowed_packet | 16777216 |
+--------------------+----------+

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Grants for berowraw_root@localhost |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| GRANT USAGE ON *.* TO 'berowraw_root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY PASSWORD '*F80497F0DE55835711982D64777E6784F49BC630' |
| GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `berowraw\_bw`.* TO 'berowraw_root'@'localhost' |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The command is:
select LOAD_FILE("/home6/berowraw/uploads/a.jpg");

The path and file exists, and there are execute permissions on the entire path including the file so mysql can access it. I've also asked my web host's support and the mysql server is running on the same machine as where my file resides, so that condition is met. The file is also smaller than max_allowed_packet. What else can it be?

Thanks,
Craig