Fed Regulators Propose New Definition of "Honey"

Federal regulators have drafted new industry guidelines that say what products should be labeled "honey," protecting consumers from imitation products or added sweetener-heavy "blends." The guidelines are also designed to protect U.S. honey producers, who are threatened by cheap substitute imports.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released the early draft of proposed guidelines that will limit what food companies and other producers should label as "honey."

According to the FDA, producers and suppliers of the product should refer to only pure honey products as "honey". Honey mixed with sugar or other additives such as corn syrup are currently "misbranded" and misleading to consumers, FDA regulators argue, adding that products that mix pure honey with additives should instead be labeled as a honey "blend."

According to U.S. industry estimates cited by the FDA in its proposal, U.S. citizens consume more than 400 million pound of honey each year. Only a fractions of that, a little under 150 million pounds, were produced in the U.S. alone, meaning that the greater majority of the "honey" that U.S. consumers are buying is imported.

Now the FDA has grown concerned that cheap substitutes and imitation-honey is bullying pure honey and U.S. producers out of the market.

According to the FDA, in 2006 the American Beekeeping Federation and several smaller honey-related associations requested that the FDA make a permanent change to the industry definition of "honey," limiting the word to describe only pure-honey based products. This was requested in the wake of a national shortage of pure honey, as honeybees were dying at an alarming rate and driving up the price of honey. While the FDA denied this request, it had agreed to look into drafting new guidelines regarding labeling.

Now, eight years later, the price of honey is at an all-time high -- at $2.12 a pound. Thankfully, the guidelines have now been officially proposed, giving manufacturers of U.S. and imported honey 60 days to comment on the proposal before final guidelines are issued.

However, unlike enforced FDA regulations, the guidelines are not mandatory.

The FDA released the proposed draft on Tuesday, April 8.