General Info

Approved by MBA, SEMBA 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.

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

premises.

(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.

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.

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.

Walls and Ceilings Walls and ceilings shall have washable surfaces, be clean, and kept in good repair.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

Processing Equipment shall be constructed of durable, smooth and easily cleanable materials, well maintained and stored to avoid contamination.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

MDA does offer a free plan-review service where they will review your plans for a new or remodeled honey house. Contact MDA for information.

Application for an MDA, Food and Dairy Division Food Establishment License (honey house) can be obtained from your regional MDA office or by contacting Roger Sutherland, rsuther@hotmail.com or by mail addressed to him at 5488 Warren Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105. The current cost for inspection and registration is found on the form.

“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.

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

premises.