[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2162 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2162
To provide for the protection of the integrity of honey marketed in the
United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 14, 2025
Mr. Steube (for himself, Mr. Panetta, and Mr. Ezell) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the protection of the integrity of honey marketed in the
United States, 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 Integrity Act''.
SEC. 2. STANDARD OF IDENTITY FOR HONEY.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary 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 shall submit a report to Congress on enforcement actions
taken under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et
seq.) with respect to--
(1) honey that is adulterated under section 402 of such Act
(21 U.S.C. 342); and
(2) honey that is misbranded under section 403 of such Act
(21 U.S.C. 343).
SEC. 4. HONEY INTEGRITY PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program for the
purposes of detecting economically motivated adulteration and improving
honey integrity for honey introduced, or delivered for introduction,
into interstate commerce. Such program shall be known as the Honey
Integrity Program.
(b) Testing Required.--
(1) In general.--Pursuant to the Honey Integrity Program,
beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary shall require that each qualifying commercial
honey packer in the United States--
(A) conduct testing on honey the packer intends to
be marketed in the United States, as described in
paragraph (2);
(B) certify to the Secretary that the packer has
complied with the requirements of this section and that
the packer has no reason to believe that the packer has
traded in honey that has been the subject of
economically motivated adulteration; and
(C) report the results of such testing to the
Secretary at such time and in such manner as the
Secretary may specify.
(2) Testing requirements.--A qualifying commercial honey
packer shall ensure that testing conducted pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall--
(A) use all the best available science, including
nuclear DNA testing, mitochondrial DNA testing, and any
other established forensic DNA identity testing
methods, nuclear magnetic resonance, high-resolution
mass spectrometry, and other tests in a combined
protocol designed to produce the most scientifically
valid outcomes with respect to detecting economically
motivated adulteration;
(B) ensure that a minimum volume of honey is tested
to be effective according to law enforcement protocols
to be developed by the Secretary, in consultation with
the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
and the heads of other Federal agencies, as the
Secretary determines appropriate; and
(C) be consistent with, or superior to, the best
practices of other countries with respect to conducting
testing of honey for economically motivated
adulteration (as defined by the Secretary).
(3) Packer obligations.--The Secretary shall require each
qualifying commercial honey packer to--
(A) report to the Secretary findings of testing
conducted under this section, at such time and in such
manner as the Secretary may specify; and
(B) in the case of a packer identifying
economically motivated adulteration (as defined by the
Secretary) in any honey the packer intends to market in
the United States--
(i) report such information to the
Secretary and such law enforcement officials as
the Secretary may require, not later than 24
hours after that identification; and
(ii) refuse receipt of such honey.
(4) Effect of ema identification.--Upon receipt of an alert
of the identification of economically motivated adulteration
(as defined by the Secretary), the Secretary shall--
(A) investigate, test, and destroy honey determined
to be so adulterated after confirming results through
Federal laboratory findings;
(B) maintain and share data on such identification
with relevant enforcement agencies at the Federal,
State, and local level, including the Commissioner of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Secretary of
Agriculture; and
(C) maintain and share data on such identification
with stakeholders, including national domestic producer
associations.
(c) List of Packers.--The Secretary shall--
(1) publish, and update as necessary, a list of each
qualifying commercial honey packer in the United States,
including packers excluded by the Secretary from being
considered a qualifying commercial honey packer; and
(2) distribute such list, upon initial publication, and
upon each update, to relevant stakeholders, as determined by
the Secretary.
(d) Interagency Cooperation.--
(1) Consultation.--In developing the testing requirements
under subsection (b), the Secretary shall consult with the
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the
Secretary of Agriculture, and the head of any other Federal
agency the Secretary determines to be appropriate, and the
Secretary may consult with such Commissioner, such Secretary,
and the heads of such other Federal agencies in otherwise
carrying out this section.
(2) Resources.--In the case that the Food and Drug
Administration lacks the necessary resources and laboratories
available to test honey, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and
the Department of Agriculture shall make available to the
Secretary laboratory and other resources required by the
Secretary for purposes of carrying out this section.
(e) Fees and Funding.--
(1) Assessment.--Each qualifying commercial honey packer
shall be subject to a fee due at such time and in such amounts
as the Secretary may specify.
(2) Crediting and availability of fees.--Fees authorized
under paragraph (1) shall be collected and available for
obligation only to the extent and in the amount provided in
advance in appropriations Acts. Such fees are authorized to
remain available until expended.
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated for fees under this section an amount equal
to the amount necessary to carry out this section.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``economically motivated adulteration'' means
any practice, such as intentionally leaving out, taking out,
substituting a valuable ingredient or part of a food, or adding
a substance to a food, that is intended to increase the value
of a food (as defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)) that makes such food
adulterated within the meaning of section 402 of such Act (21
U.S.C. 342).
(2)(A) The term ``qualifying commercial honey packer''
means any packer who is required to pay an assessment to the
National Honey Board established pursuant to the Commodity
Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7411
et seq.).
(B) Such term excludes packers who meet such criteria for
exclusion as the Secretary may develop.
(3) The term ``Secretary'', except as otherwise specified,
means the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting
through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs.
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