Armstrong introduces legislation to update labeling requirements for honey

Jason R. O'Day, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Jul. 20—WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-ND, introduced H.R. 4764, the Honey Identification Verification and Enforcement (HIVE) Act, which would require the creation of a standard of identity for honey and update the labeling requirements for honey. North Dakota is the number 1 honey state, producing approximately

$31.2 million pounds

in 2022.

"North Dakota produces more honey than any other state. Yet, there is no standard definition of honey. This puts American producers at a disadvantage against disingenuous or fraudulent "honey" imports. The HIVE Act will provide consumers confidence that when they buy a product labeled as honey, it's actually honey. These updates are commonsense and long overdue," Armstrong said.

One of those honey producers is beekeeper

Todd Whitney

of Richardton.

"I only run 800 hives so I can do it myself. That's probably the maximum a guy would want to run, being by yourself. It's a lot," he

said

in a previous interview. "It's a load going out there working, pulling honey by yourself."

North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring further elaborated on how this legislation would be good for the Roughrider State.

"The HIVE Act is a good step in the right direction to protect against the influx of diluted, adulterated and misbranded honey imports," Goehring said. "Consumers will be informed about the honey they buy and our domestic beekeeping industry will have a level playing field against overseas companies."

The HIVE Act would require the Food and Drug Administration to finally establish a standard of identity for honey and subsequently report to Congress on enforcement actions taken with respect to adulterated or misbranded honey.

It would also reorganize the existing U.S. Department of Agriculture country of origin labeling requirements by utilizing the consumer-familiar ingredient labeling criteria.

Countries of origin would be listed in order of predominance, allowing the consumer to discern the origin of blended honey.