[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4764 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4764

 To establish a standard of identity for honey, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2023

  Mr. Armstrong (for himself and Mr. Lawler) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 
    in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a standard of identity for honey, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Honey Identification Verification 
and Enforcement Act'' or the ``HIVE Act''.

SEC. 2. STANDARD OF IDENTITY FOR HONEY.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the 
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall establish a standard of identity 
for honey in accordance with applicable United States Pharmacopeia 
standards under section 401 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 
(21 U.S.C. 341).

SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 
              MISBRANDED HONEY.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the 
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall submit a report to the Congress 
on enforcement actions taken under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) with respect to honey that is adulterated 
under section 402 of such Act (21 U.S.C. 342) and honey that is 
misbranded under section 403 of such Act (21 U.S.C. 343).

SEC. 4. COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN LISTED IN DESCENDING ORDER OF PREDOMINANCE.

    Section 203(h)(6) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 
U.S.C. 1622(h)(6)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``a comparable size,'' 
        and all that follows through the period at the end and 
        inserting the following: ``a comparable size--
                            ``(i) the 1 or more names of the 1 or more 
                        countries of origin of the lot or container of 
                        honey, listed in descending order of 
                        predominance and preceded by the words `Product 
                        of' or other words of similar meaning;
                            ``(ii) if the country of origin is listed 
                        as the United States, a statement clarifying 
                        the de minimis allowance specified in 
                        subparagraph (C); and
                            ``(iii) a certificate, mark, or statement 
                        indicating that the honey meets the standard of 
                        identity established under section 2 of the 
                        HIVE Act.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) De minimis allowance.--In the case of honey 
                that lists, pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii), the 
                United States as the country of origin of such honey, 
                the producer of such honey shall not be in violation of 
                the requirements of such subparagraph if 95 percent of 
                such honey has a United States country of origin and 
                contains not more than a de minimis amount (not to 
                exceed 5 percent) of honey from any other country (or 
                countries) of origin.''.
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