S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  5164

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 14, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. MAGEE -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Agriculture

AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets  law,  in  relation  to  the
  definition of honey and standards for honey sold in this state; and to
  repeal section 205 of such law relating thereto

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 205 of the agriculture and markets law is  REPEALED
and a new section 205 is added to read as follows:
  S  205.  HONEY.  1.  FOR PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE, THE FOLLOWING TERMS
SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
  A. "HONEY" SHALL MEAN THE NATURAL SWEET SUBSTANCE PRODUCED  BY  HONEY-
BEES FROM THE NECTAR OF PLANTS OR EXCRETIONS OF PLANT SUCKING INSECTS ON
THE  LIVING  PARTS OF PLANTS, WHICH BEES COLLECT, TRANSFORM BY COMBINING
SUCH SUBSTANCE WITH SPECIFIC SUBSTANCES OF  THEIR  OWN,  DEPOSIT,  DEHY-
DRATE, STORE, AND LEAVE IN THE HONEYCOMB TO RIPEN AND MATURE.
  B.  "BLOSSOM  HONEY" OR "NECTAR HONEY" SHALL MEAN THE HONEY THAT COMES
FROM THE NECTAR OR NECTARS OF A PLANT OR PLANTS.
  C. "HONEYDEW HONEY" MEANS THE HONEY  THAT  COMES  PRIMARILY  FROM  THE
EXCRETIONS  OF  PLANT  SUCKING  INSECTS  (HEMIPTERA)  ON LIVING PARTS OF
PLANTS.
  2. HONEY SHALL CONSIST OF DIFFERENT SUGARS, PREDOMINANTLY FRUCTOSE AND
GLUCOSE, AS WELL AS OTHER SUBSTANCES,  INCLUDING,  BUT  NOT  LIMITED  TO
ORGANIC   ACIDS,   ENZYMES,  AND  SOLID  PARTICLES  DERIVED  FROM  HONEY
COLLECTION.  THE COLOR OF HONEY MAY VARY FROM NEARLY COLORLESS  TO  DARK
BROWN.  THE  CONSISTENCY OF HONEY MAY BE FLUID, VISCOUS, OR PARTIALLY TO
COMPLETELY CRYSTALLIZED. THE FLAVOR AND AROMA  OF  HONEY  MAY  VARY  BUT
SHALL BE DERIVED FROM PLANT ORIGIN.
  3. HONEY SOLD IN THIS STATE SHALL MEET THE STANDARDS SET FORTH IN THIS
SECTION  AND  SHALL  NOT HAVE ADDED TO IT ANY FOOD INGREDIENT, INCLUDING
FOOD ADDITIVES, NOR SHALL ANY OTHER ADDITIONS OR ADDITIVES  BE  MADE  TO

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09334-01-1
              

A. 5164                             2

SUCH  HONEY.    HONEY  SHALL NOT HAVE ANY FOREIGN MATTER, OR ANY FLAVOR,
AROMA, OR TAINT ABSORBED FROM FOREIGN MATTER DURING ITS  PROCESSING  AND
STORAGE.  HONEY  SHALL  NOT  HAVE  BEGUN TO FERMENT OR EFFERVESCE AND NO
POLLEN  OR  CONSTITUENT  PARTICULAR TO HONEY MAY BE REMOVED EXCEPT WHERE
UNAVOIDABLE IN THE REMOVAL OF FOREIGN ORGANIC OR INORGANIC MATTER. HONEY
MAY CONTAIN THE HIVE PRODUCTS BEESWAX AND PROPOLIS.
  4. HONEY SOLD IN THIS STATE SHALL MEET THE FOLLOWING STANDARDS:
  A. HONEY SHALL NOT BE HEATED OR PROCESSED TO SUCH AN EXTENT  THAT  ITS
ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION IS CHANGED OR ITS QUALITY IMPAIRED.
  B.  CHEMICAL  OR BIOCHEMICAL TREATMENTS SHALL NOT BE USED TO INFLUENCE
HONEY CRYSTALLIZATION.
  C. HONEY SHALL NOT CONTAIN MORE THAN 18.6 PERCENT MOISTURE CONTENT.
  D. HONEY SHALL NOT  CONTAIN  LESS  THAN  SIXTY  PERCENT  FRUCTOSE  AND
GLUCOSE, COMBINED.
  E.  HONEYDEW  HONEY  AND  BLENDS  OF HONEYDEW HONEY WITH BLOSSOM HONEY
SHALL NOT CONTAIN LESS THAN FORTY-FIVE  PERCENT  FRUCTOSE  AND  GLUCOSE,
COMBINED.
  F.  BLOSSOM  HONEY  SHALL  NOT CONTAIN MORE THAN FIVE PERCENT SUCROSE,
EXCEPT FOR THE FOLLOWING:
  (I) ALFALFA (MEDICAGO SATIVA), CITRUS SUBSPECIES, FALSE ACACIA  (ROHI-
NIA  PSEUDO  ACACIA),  FRENCH  HONEYSUCKLE (HEDYSARUM), MENZIES BANKSIAS
(BANKSIA MENISCII),  RED  GUM  (EUCALYPSIS  CAMALDULENSIS),  LEATHERWOOD
(EUCRYPHIA  LUCIDA),  AND  EUCRYPHIA  MILLIGANI  MAY  CONTAIN  UP TO TEN
PERCENT SUCROSE.
  (II) LAVENDER (LAVANDULA SPP.) AND  BORAGE  (BORAGE  OFFICINALIS)  MAY
CONTAIN UP TO FIFTEEN PERCENT SUCROSE.
  S  2.  Section  206  of the agriculture and markets law, as amended by
chapter 423 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as follows:
  S 206. Relative to selling a commodity in imitation  or  semblance  of
honey.   No person or persons shall package, label, sell, keep for sale,
expose or offer for  sale,  any  article  or  product  in  imitation  or
semblance  of  honey  depicting  thereon  a picture or drawing of a bee,
beehive or honeycomb,  or  branded  as  "honey,"  "liquid  or  extracted
honey,"  "strained  honey"  or "pure honey" which is not [pure] honey AS
SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED FIVE  OF  THIS  ARTICLE.  No
person  or  persons,  firm,  association,  company or corporation, shall
manufacture, sell, expose or offer for sale,  any  compound  or  mixture
branded  or  labeled  as  and  for honey which shall be made up of honey
mixed with any other substance or ingredient. There may  be  printed  on
the  package  containing such compound or mixture a statement giving the
ingredients of which it is made; if honey is one of such ingredients  it
shall  be  so stated in the same size type as are the other ingredients,
but it shall not be packaged, sold, exposed for  sale,  or  offered  for
sale  as honey; nor shall such compound or mixture be branded or labeled
with the word "honey" in any form other than  as  herein  provided;  nor
shall  any  product  in semblance of honey, whether a mixture or not, be
sold, exposed or offered for sale as honey, or branded or  labeled  with
the  word  "honey,"  unless such article is [pure] honey AS SUCH TERM IS
DEFINED IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED FIVE OF THIS ARTICLE. A product which  is
in  semblance  or  imitation  of liquid honey shall be labeled as "honey
flavored syrup" or "artificially honey flavored syrup", as is  appropri-
ate.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.