Honey Guidelines and Regulations For the State of Michigan 

Approved by the Michigan Beekeepers Association, the Southeast Michigan Beekeepers Association and the Michigan Department of Agriculture  Food and Dairy Division February, 2005

A honey processing facility must be operating according to the Michigan Food Law of 2000, P.A. 92 as amended.  MDA may inspect unlicensed honey-houses on a complaint basis.

• “Processing” means extracting honey and placing it in containers for wholesale or retail sale.
• “Retail” means selling, serving, or giving away honey directly to the consumer.
• “Wholesale” means selling/bartering to retailers or jobbers rather than directly to the public.

Licensing Requirements

Michigan beekeepers are not required to obtain a Food Establishment License if they process and retail their own honey on their own premises.
 
Michigan beekeepers are required to obtain a  Food Establishment License if:

(a) They process and retail honey at various locations.  Only one license is required at the production facility, but the honey can be sold at farmers’ markets, craft shows, restaurants, retail stores, and other public venues without an additional license for each location.

(b) They process and wholesale honey.

                  
Guidelines for Honey Processors

Facility Requirements

1. Processing Facility:
   A honey house is any stationary or portable building, or any room or place within a building used for the purpose of extracting, processing and/or handling of honey.  It must be constructed in a sanitary manner, suitable to the operation, well maintained, and in good repair and vermin proof.  During the processing of honey, this place is to be used only for operation or storage of equipment incidental to the activity.  (This room excludes the family kitchen.) The grounds adjacent to this building should be free from all litter, waste, refuse or anything that may constitute an attractant, breeding place or harborage for rodents, insects and other pests. 
2. Floors
   Floors of all rooms in which honey is handled must be of impervious and easily cleaned material and must be smooth, in good repair and kept clean. Floors that have a drain should drain into an approved sewage disposal system.
3. Walls and Ceilings  
   Walls  and  ceilings  shall  have  washable surfaces, be clean, and kept in good repair.
4. Ventilated Openings
   There shall be adequate ventilation and all ventilated openings shall be screened to exclude insects. It may be that honey bees enter the extracting facility, but efforts should be made to control entry and to eliminate bees once inside.
5. Lighting 
   Permanently fixed light source shall be sufficient to permit efficient operations. All lights over the processing area shall have protective shielding or be shatter resistant.
6. Water Supply  There shall be an adequate source of safe potable water under pressure in accordance with local sanitary codes. Water from a nonpublic source (private well) shall be tested at least once a year (contact local health department about testing procedures and locations).
7. Water Disposal  There shall be an efficient waste disposal system available. Toilet facilities, including hand-washing basins, shall be conveniently available to honey-house personnel.
8. Vector Control 
   No chemicals or poisons shall be used to control insects or  rodents while supers of honey are stored in the facility or extracting of honey is  proceeding. Follow label instructions and use only approved pesticides.
9. Construction, Care, Use and Repair of Honey House, Containers and Equipment  
   During operation, the honey house shall be used exclusively for extraction, processing, packing or other handling of honey and storage of equipment related to the activity of the honey house. Containers shall be free  of internal rust, cleaned before use. Honey shall not be packed in containers which have previously contained pesticides, creosote, petroleum  products, paint, toxic substances or any thing that would react with honey. All equipment should be covered when not in use.  Extracting equipment  shall  have   hard surfaces that will not permit reaction of the acid in honey and should be lubricated only with food-grade grease.
10.  Heating Equipment 
    No boiler, oil stove or other heating equipment that gives off odor or dust may be used within the honey house, unless it is properly ventilated and complies with fire regulations.
11. Workers Sanitation
    Workers shall maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness and wear clean,   washable outer garments.  Hand Washing Station shall be conveniently located, easily accessible and supplied with tempered water, soap, single service disposable paper towels or an effective sanitary drying device.
12. Utensil / Equipment Cleaning
    A sink with sufficient compartments or other facilities shall be conveniently located to facilitate the cleaning and sanitizing of all processing utensils and equipment.  A food-grade sanitizer shall be available and a method to test the level of sanitizer being used to ensure the level is nontoxic. All chemical sanitizers shall be listed in 21 CFR 178.101 Sanitizing Solutions and used in accordance with the EPA-approved manufacturer’s label-use instructions. If using fresh hot water, sanitization equipment / utensil surface temperatures must reach at least 171F (77C).
13. Processing Equipment
    Processing equipment shall be constructed of durable, smooth and easily cleanable materials, well maintained and stored to avoid contamination.
14. Bee Hive Equipment 
    Extracting supers shall be clean and free of contamination. Medication is to be applied only when required following label directions. Supers should be covered, transported in clean vehicles and stored in a clean/sanitary area prior to extracting.
15. Extracting Honey 
    Uncapping should be done under sanitary conditions.   Extracted honey should be covered if the process is not continuous. Each lot  is processed separately and a sample of each lot shall  be  retained with proper label identification. Straining of honey shall be done with a clean mesh cloth material or stainless steel mesh. Reuse of cloth mesh is not advisable. If honey is filtered, the filters should be checked for damage to ensure they are clean and free from extraneous material.
16. Packaging Honey (Bottling) and Labeling Requirements
    The processing of honey for bottling shall be done in a clean/sanitary devoted facility. Retail and wholesale honey containers should be labeled with: product identity, ingredients if any are added, a production or lot code, name, address of manufacturer, packer or  distributor, and net weight.
17. Cooperative Honey Houses (Central Kitchens) As a cooperative honey house, multiple processors can use the licensed facility. The processors that use the facility are not required to obtain a license. Accurate records of members using the facility will be kept. From time to time, MDA will examine the production records to verify that honey found in commerce was actually produced at the cooperative.
18. Transport of Supers
    Vehicles used to transport supers after removal must be clean. Supers must be covered during transport to prevent environmental contamination. Storage of supers must occur in a clean and sanitary environment.
19. Honey House Plan Review
    The Michigan Department of Agriculture offers a free plan-review service where they will review your plans for a new or remodeled honey house.

For further information, please contact your regional MDA Food & Dairy Division office.

The MDA contact person in Southwest Michigan is Scott Kay,  (269) 428-2546.