Photo by yuan2003 via flickr
On February 16, the Wisconsin Senate approved a bill which will create standards for what can be labeled as “honey” and “Certified Wisconsin Honey” in Wisconsin. The bill now awaits action by Governor Doyle.
If enacted, the bill will require that food labeled as “honey” sold in Wisconsin meets the global standard for honey (pdf). This standard describes what honey is made of, and what it can or can’t contain. The bill also allows for injured parties to collect damages and attorneys fees from entities that knowingly violate these standards. True to its motto “Forward”, reflecting the state’s continuous drive to be a national leader, Wisconsin would join Florida and California as the only states to close a legal gap that the Food and Drug Administration has yet to address – what exactly is honey?
“Certified Wisconsin Honey”
The Wisconsin bill also allows beekeepers to voluntarily have their honey tested by independent labs, and allow them to label their product as “Certified Wisconsin Honey.” Honey so labeled will not only conform to Wisconsin’s honey standards, but guarantee that the honey was made in the state. Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) will draft rules regarding specifics of the certification process.
According to Senator Kathleen Vinehout, one of the bill’s sponsors, once the bill is signed it will take up to eighteen months before honey producers can start using the “Certified” label. “The administrative rule process involves a number of steps including a DATCP board review,” Vinehout explains, “a public comment period and a legislative review period. All of these steps take time to make sure we establish a good program.”
Supporting beekeepers
Some Wisconsin beekeepers are taking a “wait and see” attitude. With lab testing fees unknown, confidence in the lab results to be proven, and testing in the courts by honey adulterators a big question, the bill will have to prove itself before some fully support the action. No complaints have yet to be filed under the Florida law, so right now it’s all words and no action as far as the skeptics are concerned.
Tim Fulton, president of the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association, thinks that in the long run, the bill will benefit Wisconsin beekeepers. “For those beekeepers who are proud of their Wisconsin product and CHOOSE to present their product to consumers as Wisconsin Certified Honey, [the bill] will be helpful,” he writes.
Protecting consumers, Wisconsin Pride
“Consumers are the biggest winners,” Fulton points out. “By buying Wisconsin Certified Honey, they will have assurance that the product is not adulterated with cheaper, less nutritious sweeteners.” Such sweeteners, like high fructose corn syrup, bulk up pure honey and also allows honey producers to undercut honest producers. “For the first time, adulterated honey labeled ‘pure honey’ can be challenged in court. In the past, with no legal definition of honey, there was no grounds for a challenge.”
In a state known for its cheese — and cheese heads — Wisconsin pride alone may do more to increase local honey sales. As Senator Vinehout notes, “when consumers go to the grocery store, they will see both Wisconsin Certified Honey and generic honey products. If a consumer wants pure honey they know meets high standards and is produced in Wisconsin, then Wisconsin Certified Honey is for them.”
State fact: The official insect of Wisconsin is the honey bee, adopted in 1977.
(Photo by Wisconsin.gov)