AMS Asks for Input on Potential Honey Standard

The Agricultural Marketing Service is asking for comments by Sept. 19 on a possible new standard of identity for honey. A group of domestic honey industry coalitions had requested the Food and Drug Administration set a honey standard in 2006 to address adulteration, but was denied in 2011. AMS sets its own standards for identity, and was directed to report on the possibility of a honey standard by the 2014 Farm Bill. Also, states have recently begun issuing their own honey standards, said AMS. “Inevitable” variation between these state standards could “lead to an assortment of standards that vary from state to state and impede interstate commerce,” it said. Comments should address the standard proposed by honey industry associations in 2006 (here), as well as how a “standard for the identity of honey would be in the interest of consumers, the honey industry, and United States agriculture,” as directed by Congress.