Honey Label Requirements?

[hollybees]

Hi Everyone,

I was looking into ordering some labels and came across a site that said this......

"Federal regulations require the name, address, zip code, and the net weight stated in ounces and grams."

http://go.netgrab.com/secure/kelleystore/labels.htm

I'm a 4 hive hobbyist and I really don't want to put my name and address on all my labels.
What do you folks include on your labels?

If you have pics of your labels it would be cool to see them  8-)

Thanks,
Paul

[Bee-Bop]

Well if you are going to sell your honey, You ARE a business man, and Uncle wants to know, who you are, were you are, and how much is in the bottle your selling ! [ So do I ]

You may get by with out the info., if you don't horn in on somebody elses honey sales, or try to sell to stores for resale, but if you are reported !!

That old saying; " If you want to play the game, you have to follow the rules "

Bee-Bop

[jdpro5010]

My main concern is why you don't want people to be able to contact you about YOUR honey.

[BjornBee]

Much of this came about after 9/11. Basically it comes down to that if there was tampering, poisoning, a health concern, or anything else, they want to be able to track back to the manufacturer or producer.

Of course honey is relatively a safe product. But just as they are able to pull "lots" of peanut butter, dairy, tainted beef or anything else, they want to track back to the producer ANYTHING that is sold to the public.

It has little to do with money, taxes, or anything else.

Bottom line, somebody keels over from tainted food product, they want to be able to pull the rest of the product, correct any problems at the producer level, and keep the public safe.

The only exception or additional labeling requirements is that you must have nutrition labels after you pass the (I think) 5,000 "unit" level.

And I agree, having your name and number on the bottle is the best advertising one can have.

[charlotte]

I have 3 hives.  I give my honey away to family, friends, neighbors, etc.  Key word here- GIVE...
I have labels that basically just say "honey" and have a picture on them.  Anyone that gets my honey knows who I am anyway. 

At one time we sold brown eggs to my local grocery store.  And had our farm name, address & ph number on it.  To be honest, the only people that ever contacted us where people wanting to know if they could buy eggs direct from us, or to comment on the good quality.  Having your name associated with something that you worked hard on & tastes good actually gives a sense of pride.

Good luck & just be sure you do things "by the book" so you don't get yourself in trouble  ;)

[irerob]

  I agree, if your going to sell it, the powers that be need to be able to get a  hold of you if some thing goes wrong.
    That being said I don't see why you can.t get a PO box

[BjornBee]

  I agree, if your going to sell it, the powers that be need to be able to get a  hold of you if some thing goes wrong.
    That being said I don't see why you can.t get a PO box

You produced it at the post office?

P.O. Boxes are notorious for scam operations, shysters, hiding facts, hiding the people behind the scenes etc. Do you really think that tracking a problem to a post office box would be fast and effective, prudent, or smart?

[luvin honey]

My main concern is why you don't want people to be able to contact you about YOUR honey.

I don't get a sense that the OP is trying to hide anything, just uncomfortable having his address so out there.

Would your name and phone number do it? I know that you can Google phone numbers and come up with addresses anyway, but maybe a cell phone number?

These regulations are interesting. Honey seems pretty safe. I can sell eggs without as much information. I can sell chicken meat without an inspection.

[JP]

Our state requires you to put your name and phone number on the label, which I do. I would not put my address, name and phone number is enough, unless you are running a large operation which would probably change the label requirements.

Not all P.O.boxes are scams, I know several upstanding small businesses that work from their homes that use P.O.boxes.


...JP

[Bee-Bop]

I believe Wisconsin requires you to label your chicken with your name, address, & weight, and also the words " NOT INSPECTED "

Not much different then the Federal Honey requirements.

These regulations are interesting. Honey seems pretty safe. I can sell eggs without as much information. I can sell chicken meat without an inspection.

Check this especialy pgs. 8-9

http://datcp.state.wi.us/fs/licenses/meat_poultry_commercial.pdf

Take every thing you read on inter-net forums with a grain or two of salt !

I've been wrong before.
Bee-Bop

[BjornBee]

Our state requires you to put your name and phone number on the label, which I do. I would not put my address, name and phone number is enough, unless you are running a large operation which would probably change the label requirements.

Not all P.O.boxes are scams, I know several upstanding small businesses that work from their homes that use P.O.boxes.


...JP

I did not say that all were.  ;)

When that traveling meat truck pulls up in the front of the house, and wants to know if I want a great deal on some meat from a "Neighbor" who had to cancell an order.....and they suggest that their company is run out of a P.O. box at a post office.....I'll pass just the same....  ;)

Now, they still not make the sale, but I'd feel a whole lot better knowing where the physical location of their operation was. But maybe that's just me.... :-D

My idea of good marketing is knowing that a certain amount of the buying public looks at such things and it does influence the bottom line. I pass along the notion I have nothing to hide, nothing to fear, and they can know where it is was produced, who produced it, etc. A post office box portrays the wrong message to some. You want a successful business, drop the P.O. box.

[Wes Sapp]

I would guess label requirements vary from state to state. In South Carolina there are 4 basic requirments. One being name of manufacturer, packer, or distributor, address shall include a street address, city or town, state, and zip code. Also the font has to be a certain size depending on the size of the jar and the total square inches of the label itself. I would suggest contacting some one at your state Ag or consumer protection division to find out the requirments for labeling in your state instead of going by some thing you read on a forum.

[BjornBee]

Are you kidding me? Have you seen the morons at half these state offices?   :-D

Yesterday, I went to the DMV to title a trailer that was registered out of state. The first thing the guy asks for was the old title. I said there was none, that it was registered in Michigan, and they do not title trailers under 2500 axle weight. He said that without a title, he could not help me.

I handed him the entire packet of papers, and said he needed to work it out. He then focuses on an "application for title" and states "How could there be no title if there is an application for title here?"

I stated that the application for title was needed to acquire a plate to allow it to be on the road. And that if he would look, there was in BLOCK #1 "Untitled vehicle" as they classified it in Michigan.

Needless to say, this went on for about 5 minutes before a supervisor noticed the commotion. He said he would settle this by a simple phone call and disappeared into another office. He comes back 5 minutes later, apologizes, and instructs that my paperwork is all in order. Then, the lady next to my service guy, instructs him line for line how to process a trailer since it was his SECOND day on the job!

The best part was when the very helpful lady stated that "I think you put the weight in wrong, it should be 440 for the trailer "dry weight" and you have 44lbs". He then states "It must of been the computer because I put in the correct amount...it must of changed it!"

I'm sure by today that lady is asking for a change of seating.... ;)

Back to bees....

Last year (or was it two years ago) a state food inspector came to the state fall meeting, and covered "honey house" regulations. About everything he said was contradictory to what my inspector says, and how I had to certify my honey house. Many people openly commented that it seemed he knew little about what was required.

So maybe, these discussions on the forums are helpful more than we know... :roll:

[Wes Sapp]

Last year (or was it two years ago) a state food inspector came to the state fall meeting, and covered "honey house" regulations. About everything he said was contradictory to what my inspector says, and how I had to certify my honey house. Many people openly commented that it seemed he knew little about what was required.

So, who was right the inspector at the meeting or your inspector? Easy, your inspector. Why? Because thats the inspector YOU have to deal with. Seems honey laws are as clear as game laws! It gives the inspectors/game wardens the abilty to intrepert the laws as they see them. If Monday morning the inspector that spoke at the meeting knocked on your door and said he was the your new inspector, then who would be right?

[BjornBee]

Last year (or was it two years ago) a state food inspector came to the state fall meeting, and covered "honey house" regulations. About everything he said was contradictory to what my inspector says, and how I had to certify my honey house. Many people openly commented that it seemed he knew little about what was required.

So, who was right the inspector at the meeting or your inspector? Easy, your inspector. Why? Because thats the inspector YOU have to deal with. Seems honey laws are as clear as game laws! It gives the inspectors/game wardens the abilty to intrepert the laws as they see them. If Monday morning the inspector that spoke at the meeting knocked on your door and said he was the your new inspector, then who would be right?

Your limiting the options at only two.


Who's right?

ME!  Always am.. always will be..... :lol:  Afterall, it's my world I live in.... :-D

[luvin honey]

Maybe something we all can agree on: Rules and regs are very varied. Dealing with bureaucracy is worse than being stung!

[MustbeeNuts]

Bureaucracy??, in my day we called it something else.

[Brian D. Bray]

Bureaucracy??, in my day we called it something else.

You ever see that French Cartoon about the 2 Gauls who went to the Government Offices to get a permit and after getting the run around reverse the talbes and had the bureaucrats running around in circles themselves.  I can't remember the name of the characters but it was a real Mutt and Jeff duo.

[hollybees]

Hello,
Sorry for the delayed response, I dropped our wireless router and it's been "whack" ever since...... I finally had to replace it.

Thanks for all the input you really opened my eyes to a number of points.
Such as product traceability! (very important of course)

I've preached to my kids for years to never give out personal information.
That was way before all the identity theft that has increased in the recent past. ( I love the commercials by the way)
So, i guess that was my mindset about the labels.

However, I guess these would be "customers" and yes, why wouldn't I want them to know about me!
I actually hadn't considered that....duh! :roll:

I certainly do want to do things by the book....I will do some research on Michigan's label requirements for sure.

Thanks to you all!...... glad to have had the good advice generated from this post.

Paul