PA State Honey Processing Rules

[G3farms]

For the time being in TN you can sell upto 150 gallons of honey before you are required to be an inspected facility.

G3

[MustbeeNuts]

Michigan sucks a bit on that note as well, it depends on the inspector and the only one i spoke too was a very resonalble man, the rules are tight, just the same as a major food production plant, same as say Kellogg, but like someone back mentioned , go with the federal permit, not the state one. State can't override the federal permit.

[Xperiment]

"...
And one Size fits All Mentality.

That's about the size of it.   Lacking any motivation to do otherwise they are applying a set of rules which are well-supported for other parts of the food industry to an area where they are of negative value.   The underlying problem is that no beekeepers are involved in the political process enough to make an obvious exception for them.

If you're not involved you have no right to complain about the outcome.   There is no inherent reason that they have to know everything about us, why we are different, and why its worth it to include an exception, unless we tell them -and provide the supporting information-.

yrs,
xperiment

[Grandpa Jim]

I went on the FDA site.  For one time the feds seem reasonable.  So do you than put "FDA Regestered ###" on your lables and the State leaves you alone??  Seems hard to believe.   
While on the FDA site, I did see I can regester that 220 volt employee encourager that I invented :shock:.

[BjornBee]

This discussion is a real blast!

May I remind some....."WE" are the industry beggin for the "government" to get MORE involved in the bee industry. From everything in begging for funds for such items as CCD research (Anytime you ask for money and open up cans of worms, it comes with a cost....meaning new regulations, standards, etc.) And now we are running out promoting honey standards and purity laws in each state following after what was started in Florida.

So who do you think is going to be harmed or gained the most? Who do you think will regulate, inspect, charge, and collect fees from such sought after regulations?

Of course the small operations will be shoved aside and will go under first. I have made my opinions known, and have questioned some of this in meetings. But the voices of the opposition is very small, or drowned by the bigger operations.


The food laws as it currently stands, does not stop you from producing your own food. It does limit your ability to sell it in a store or through a third party situation. The labeling laws (or the gov) want to be able to track back to the point of origin the producer of such products in case of contamination, being bad food or tampered product. And I'm not so sure I really stand behind the idea that every food item at the market should not be inspected or regulated in some manner. I think we buy things with a certain amount of confidence that the food being sold is safe, healthy, etc. But if we expect something less for beekeepers, what would be next? Where is the line drawn?

Make no mistake about it, these regulations and requirements will only get worse with time. And we are fast tracking the honey industry to soon require product testing for purity certification, among other things. And it seems a fair amount right here on this very board are promoting and pushing for it through state honey laws. It all goes hand in hand. Pass the law, then government will find a way to fund it, hire more government employees, and eventually ramifications down the road make it all questionable as to whether it was worth it.

For an industry that produces 1/3 the amount of honey we consume here in the states, we sure are good shots blasting off one toe at a time.   ;)

[Xperiment]

For the time being in TN you can sell upto 150 gallons of honey before you are required to be an inspected facility.

G3

That sounds like a pretty fair limit.   Maybe a little more than fair.

150 gal is quite a lot for a small-scale keeper.

yrs,
rubato

[Grandpa Jim]

When it comes to food safety it is difficult to say who is big enough to regulate and who is not.  I do like the TN rule, does sound more than fare.  Safe food must be assured.  But I would much sooner trust Joe the beekeeper's honey, from down the road, being extracted in his garage (cleaned up, of course, at least for the weekend of extracting) with a dog and a goldfish in the house, than the honey imported from beekeepers using who knows what chemicals and food handling practices (and probably a dog and a cat sitting beside the extractor)

Our honey can be tracked back to the point of origin.  It has our name, address and phone number on it.  When we sell to a local market it is a face to face contact with the owner.  Many people buying the honey may recognize your name and know who you are.  If they need to find you they could most likely walk to find you and still be home for supper.  That is a better tracking system then most of the food I get in for my business.  Green beans come in and are marked "packed in New Jersey".  When you look further you find they are "a product of China".  Now if we wanted to track down the guy that grew them could it be done? 

In my experience fees and paper work do not insure propper food handling practices.  Training and responsibility do.  We are responsible, our name is on the line.  With proper food handling training, people will do it right.....again their name is on that jar of honey. 

Bjorn,  How do we get our voices heard?  Where do we start?  Who do we start with?  (I do keep my pitch fork and torch in my truck  :-D)

[slacker361]

does anyone have a link for the federal permits