Honey May Bear Warning Under California Prop 65

Prop 65 in CaliforniaIn the state of California, there is a labeling law called Proposition 65 that requires companies to label products that contain chemicals that could potentially cause cancer or reproductive health effects. There are more than 800 chemicals listed under Prop 65, including everything from pesticides and heavy metals to high levels of Vitamin A. If you happen to come across a product that has a label on it as a result of Prop 65, it does not necessarily mean that it’s dangerous.

Rather, Prop 65 is intended to inform consumers about the chemicals that might be present in certain products so that they can decide whether or not to use them.

Honey is a product that will fall under Prop 65 labeling requirements in California due to the presence of a chemical called glyphosate in some honey in the state. Glyphosate is the active ingredient found in Roundup, an herbicide that is used to treat all different kinds of crops. Bees often forage on crops and bee yards that have been treated with Roundup, and the concern is that the glyphosate on these plants makes it back to the hive where it contaminates the wax and honey they eventually produce.

Findings of Glyphosate in food are happening all over the country because so many farmers rely on Roundup to grow their crops, but it could have a devastating effect on the honey industry in California if honey manufacturers are forced to label their products with a warning under Prop 65. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has approved adding Prop 65 warnings, but the implementation is delayed pending a decision on a stay requested by Monsanto. That case is Monsanto v. OEHHA.

Both the FDA and the EPA have spent time investigating the presence of glyphosate in honey, and they are actively working to find a solution to this problem. Environmentalists have been posturing  for farmers to stop using Roundup for years now and it appears the legal challenges are coming to a head in the Prop 65 status appeal hearings. Monsanto, the company that produces Roundup, has argued that the glyphosate levels in certain foods and products like honey are too low to cause human health problems as a result of consuming them. But even if that turns out to be the case, laws like Prop 65 will require labeling on honey and other products, giving people the impression that honey and other products made using honey could contain chemicals that can hurt them, and that in and of itself could be very harmful to the companies that produce them.

Honey Solutions, based in Texas, is committed to providing America’s food processors with natural honey. We are constantly monitoring our honey supply for glyphosate and doing our homework to ensure that we are providing the highest-quality honey possible. We have worked with our beekeepers to provide honey that is glyphosate residue free as qualified by The Detox Project.org with routine third party certified testing at Anresco Laboratories.

Every lot of honey purchased by Honey Solutions as glyphosate residue free is tested on site using Abraxis Inc.  Screening technology developed for honey.

To learn more about our process or to place an order, call us at 281-576-170 today. To learn more about Glyphosate Residue Free certification, watch this video.