State restricts honey that is not pure — 100 percent

Jul 14, 2009 1 min read

TALLAHASSEE (AP) – Florida wants to make sure its honey is 100 percent pure.

Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson announced Monday that his department is instituting a regulation that prohibits additives, chemicals or adulterants in honey produced, processed or sold in Florida unless consumers are clearly told what else is in it.

Bronson said, “Too often in the past, honey has been cut with water or sugar, and sometimes even contaminated with insecticides or antibiotics.”

The regulation takes effect Tuesday and says honey must contain only the “natural food product resulting from the harvest of nectar by honeybees.”

Bronson said if producers mix honey with other products, it can be sold, but must be clearly labeled as a blended product.