S3321-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE
• Feb 16, 2011: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

S3321-2011 Meetings

S3321-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S3321

TITLE OF BILL:
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

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation would define honey
and provide standards of identity for honey sold in this state.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill would repeal and add
section 205 of
the agriculture and markets law to define honey and standard for
honey sold in this state.

JUSTIFICATION:
New York's honey industry is one of the nation's
largest, ranking 12th in total production in 2009 and serving as the
Northeast's largest beekeeping state. New York has always been a
strong advocate in protecting the purity of honey and supporting the
beekeepers across this State. Laws protecting honey bees first
appeared in New York Statutes in 1883, and laws against adulteration
and misbranding of honey go back as far as 1902.

New York honey producers are facing destruction without definitive
standards of identity for honey to preserve the wholesomeness of
honey in the eyes of the consumer and to provide possible civil
recourse when the honey is found to be adulterated. Adulteration
hurts the reputation of honey as a high quality wholesome and natural
food, imperils the viability of beekeepers and packers through unfair
competition, and threatens the health and confidence of consumers.

There is no doubt that this legislation would help to protect our
beekeepers and honey producers from unfair mixing, blending and sale
of cheap inferior products. Providing a standard of identity for
honey will allow beekeepers to create self-enforcement within their
industry and protection for the consumer, nature's perfect food.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act takes effect immediately.

S3321-2011 Text

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

                                    3321

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              February 16, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sens.  GRIFFO,  LARKIN,  RANZENHOFER  --  read twice and
    ordered printed, and when printed to be committed 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

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

 S. 3321                             2

  FOOD  ADDITIVES,  NOR  SHALL ANY OTHER ADDITIONS OR ADDITIVES BE MADE TO
  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.