JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The “Honey Bill” has buzzed its way into Missouri law.
Last week, Gov. Jay Nixon signed Senate Bill 500, dubbed the “Honey Bill,” which redefined certain state statutes in regards to honey. Under old Missouri law, honey was held to the same regulatory standards as jams and jellies and if yearly sales of any of those products exceeded $30,000, the maker of the honey, jam or jelly would need to have a facility separate from their home to bottle those goods.
Now, honey belongs in its own separate statue from jams and jellies, and the product sales requiring a separate facility to bottle honey was raised to $50,000.
The bill also removes a warning label required on jars of honey warning that the product has not been inspected by the Department of Health and Senior Services.
State Sen. Jeanie Riddle, the sponsor of the legislation, called the piece of legislation a feel-good bill that was a win-win for all involved parties. The bill resolved certain issues that made things difficult for the states’ beekeepers to make some income back from their hobby.
“We got contacted from some of Missouri’s local honey producers who have for a long time been selling their honey locally,” Riddle said. “[The Department of Health and Senior Services] came and pulled them off the shelves. Honey producers came and talked to us and asked me, ‘Why are they pulling our honey?'”
Riddle noted that when the DHSS removed jars of honey from small store shelves, they were only following their enforcement protocol. The new law makes it easier for small-scale manufacturers of honey.
That small sum of money made from selling money helps beekeepers that provide an important service to the state. Bees are essential pollinators for the agriculture industry and have recently been dying off due to a myriad of reasons collectively called colony collapse disorder.
“This is one of the smallest ways [beekeepers] can compensate themselves,” Riddle said. “Bees are so important to our ag industry… We were trying to figure out what was the best thing we could do for them and do for Missourians.”
Riddle hopes the bill encourages more Missourians to start install their own hives, adding that she plans on doing so as well sometime in the future when she’s not so busy.
“It’s a difficult hobby, an expensive hobby, and it’s one that’s essential to our ag industry,” she added.
