CATCH THE BUZZ
Support and Momentum For Honey Standard Gaining Daily! Is Your State In Line To Change?
This message from Nancy Gentry...
Given the ongoing concerns over transshipments and contamination of honey and the six-part investigative report on honey laundering which began appearing December 30, in the Seattle-Post Intelligencer, the campaign for the state-by-state adoption of the Honey Standard gained momentum in Fresno at the National Packers & Dealers Association meeting and the American Honey Packers Association and then at the American Beekeeping Federation in Reno. I had the pleasure to address all three associations and am pleased to announce that both the American Honey Packers Association and the American Beekeeping Federation endorsed the state-by-state adoption of the U.S. version of the Revised Codex Standard for Honey in their 2009 resolutions. Both associations will continue to urge the FDA to adopt Revised Codex as the national standard, even though the FDA denied the petition by the major industry groups in August citing “other agency priorities.”
Florida will be the first state in the nation to have adopted Revised Codex as their standard of identity for honey (find text of Florida’s standard in Jan 09 ABJ.) On November 19, 2008, our Commissioner of Agriculture, Charles Bronson, signed the rule, clearing the way for its obligatory four-week publication in Florida Administrative Weekly. The formal adoption will be announced by the end of January or first of February.
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Now other states must join Florida and initiate campaigns for adoption of the Standard. To date, GA,NC,KY,TN,VA,WV,MD,NY,OH,OK,SD,ND,UT,PA,IA and Oregon have indicated they want to see adoption of Revised Codex in their state.. Already, GA, TX, WI, MD, KS and California have committees at work on getting their standard by the end of the year, and other states will begin as soon as Florida makes the announcement. I am addressing the Kansas State Beekeepers Convention on March 7th.
I have pledged my support to these beekeepers and will help them and others any way that I can to see Revised Codex adopted in their state. When meeting with your department of agriculture, present a written proposal and approach them in a spirit of cooperation; ultimately, it will be their decision to adopt the standard, so it is very important to keep the discussions moving in a positive direction; adults can disagree, yet still work together for a common cause…If you need assistance drafting your proposal or obtaining any of the afore-mentioned documents, I will be happy to assist…
You can contact Nancy Gentry at 386-684-3433, or farmbees@gmail.com
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