[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1411 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1411
Providing for consideration of the bill (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
June 30, 2026
Mr. Steube submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Rules
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2162) to provide for the
protection of the integrity of honey marketed in the United States, and
for other purposes.
Resolved, That immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the
House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the bill (H.R.
2162) to provide for the protection of the integrity of honey marketed
in the United States, and for other purposes. All points of order
against consideration of the bill are waived. The amendment specified
in section 3 of this resolution shall be considered as adopted. The
bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order
against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous
question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on
any further amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening
motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by
the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Energy and
Commerce; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 2. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX and clause 8 of rule XX shall not
apply to the consideration of H.R. 2162.
Sec. 3. The amendment specified in this section is as follows:
Strike section 1 and all that follows and insert the following:
``SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
``This Act may be cited as the `Honey Integrity and Consumer
Transparency Act'.
``SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
``Congress finds the following:
``(1) Managed honey bees directly pollinate more than 100
crops, contributing $20,000,000,000 annually to United States
agricultural security, dietary diversity, and food system
resilience.
``(2) Systemic economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of
imported honey suppresses domestic prices, drives down market
transparency, and threatens the economic viability of American
beekeepers.
``(3) The absence of a uniform, legally binding Federal
Standard of Identity for honey has created an enforcement gap
that allows sophisticated, highly processed, and nutritionally
degraded sweeteners to be falsely marketed as pure honey.
``SEC. 3. STANDARD OF IDENTITY FOR HONEY.
``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
(referred to in this Act as the `Secretary') shall publish a final rule
establishing a Federal Standard of Identity for honey under section 401
of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 341).
``(b) Technical Criteria and Expanded Scope.--The standard
established under subsection (a) shall--
``(1) incorporate the foundational identity and purity
markers established within the United States Pharmacopeia Honey
Standard; and
``(2) establish clear, binding physicochemical parameters,
including but not limited to--
``(A) maximum allowable thresholds for
Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to identify excessive heat
damage;
``(B) minimum allowable units for Diastase enzyme
activity to identify ultra-filtration or over-
processing;
``(C) absolute moisture content limitations to
verify natural ripeness and prohibit the artificial
vacuum dehydration of immature honey;
``(D) direct sugar composition profiles specifying
parameters for fructose, glucose, and sucrose levels;
``(E) minimum proline content requirements; and
``(F) oligosaccharide profile parameters evaluating
the distribution of higher-order saccharides beyond
monosaccharides and disaccharides, for the purpose of
identifying compositions inconsistent with authentic
honey or indicative of industrial sugar addition.
``(3) Secretarial discretion.--The Secretary shall have the
ongoing administrative discretion to update, expand, or add
additional physicochemical markers, analytical parameters, or
quality criteria to the Standard of Identity as necessary to
address evolving methods of economic adulteration,
manufacturing, or processing.
``(c) De Minimis Safe Harbor.--The Standard of Identity shall
include a de minimis safe harbor to account for technically unavoidable
trace residues resulting from legitimate, standard apicultural
practices, including seasonal, non-production supplemental bee-feeding
conducted to prevent hive starvation.
``(d) Producer-Led Consultation.--In promulgating the final rule
and any subsequent modifications, the Secretary shall consult with a
newly established Honey Authenticity Advisory Committee. The Committee
shall be composed of land-grant university forensic experts and
representatives nominated by the two largest national non-profit
organizations representing primary domestic honey producers. No
individual or entity whose primary business focus is the commercial
importation or packing of non-domestic honey may serve on the
Committee.
``SEC. 4. HONEY INTEGRITY PROGRAM.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish the Honey
Integrity Program to ensure national compliance with the Standard of
Identity promulgated under section 3.
``(b) Interagency Memorandum of Understanding.--To prevent
administrative duplication and optimize Federal resources, the
Secretary shall enter into a mandatory Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with the Secretary of Agriculture. The MOU shall explicitly
delegate the field-level verification, auditing, and certification of
domestic honey production to the Department of Agriculture.
``(c) National Center of Excellence Partnership.--The Secretary
shall contract with a lead land-grant university to designate and
operate the National Honey Center of Excellence. The lead land-grant
university shall have the sole discretion to bring in or coordinate
with additional land-grant institutions, independent laboratories, or
academic resources as necessary to carry out the program. The Center
shall:
``(1) Develop, optimize, and maintain an independent global
authenticity reference database.
``(2) Validate advanced, multi-modal testing
methodologies--including but not limited to Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) Profiling, Stable Isotope Ratio Mass
Spectrometry (SIRA/EA-IRMS/LC-IRMS), and Liquid Chromatography-
Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS)--to establish a comprehensive `Honey
Fingerprint'.
``(3) Submit validated analytical protocols and reference
data to the Secretary for official adoption as the formal
enforcement methodologies of the Honey Integrity Program.
``(d) Orthogonal Testing Requirement (Risk-Based).--The Secretary
shall require that any honey shipment designated as moderate- or high-
risk, or flagged for anomaly under screening protocols, be evaluated
using not fewer than two scientifically independent analytical
methodologies. Such methodologies must differ in analytical principle
(including isotopic, spectrometric, chromatographic, or genomic
approaches) and shall collectively be sufficient to detect
compositional, isotopic, and structural adulteration.
``(e) Risk-Based Dual Compliance Tracks.--
``(1) The certified domestic track.--Domestic honey
produced and packed within the United States by a producer
verified under the USDA quality assurance program established
via the MOU in subsection (b) shall be deemed automatically
compliant with the Honey Integrity Program. Such domestic honey
shall be exempt from mandatory per-batch forensic laboratory
testing. Domestic honey producers shall remain eligible for
reduced testing requirements only if they do not handle, blend,
or process imported honey.
``(2) The import and non-certified track.--All honey
introduced or delivered for introduction into United States
commerce that is not certified under paragraph (1) shall be
subject to a strict risk-based mandatory testing regime. Such
honey must be sampled using statistically valid lot-sampling
protocols and tested at an approved, United States-based
laboratory. The Secretary shall not rely upon certificates of
analysis, testing data, or origin paperwork issued by foreign
laboratories or foreign governmental bodies as sufficient
evidence of compliance.
``(f) Right to Re-Analysis.--Any commercial importer or packer
whose lot is flagged as non-compliant by the Honey Integrity Program
shall have the administrative right to an independent second
verification test, conducted at the owner's expense. The confirmatory
test must be performed by a separate, independent United States
laboratory selected from an approved list maintained by the National
Honey Center of Excellence.
``(g) Program User Fees.--The operational costs of the Honey
Integrity Program and the National Honey Center of Excellence shall be
funded through user fees assessed exclusively upon commercial honey
importers and large-scale packers of imported honey. All domestic honey
producers and packers handling exclusively 100 percent domestic honey
are explicitly exempt from any fees or assessments levied under this
Act.
``(h) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this Act or the establishment of
the Honey Integrity Program shall be construed to limit, alter, or
replace the statutory authority of the Secretary to enforce any other
provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et
seq.). The Secretary explicitly retains all standalone authority to
pursue civil, administrative, or criminal remedies for the general
adulteration, economic adulteration, or misbranding of food introduced
into interstate commerce.
``(i) Mass Balance and Traceability Requirement.--Importers,
blenders, and commercial packers of honey shall maintain verifiable
records sufficient to demonstrate that the total volume of honey sold
does not exceed the volume of authenticated honey purchased or
imported.
``SEC. 5. SYSTEMIC TARGETING AND TRANSPARENCY TOOLS.
``(a) AI/ML Predictive Targeting Model.--Pursuant to improving
enforcement efficiency and as proposed under agency compliance
planning, the Secretary, in coordination with the Commissioner of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP), shall integrate artificial
intelligence and machine learning predictive modeling into import
targeting systems. The model shall cross-reference trade movement
statistics, shipping manifests, and historical transshipment patterns
to intercept high-risk fraudulent shipments at ports of entry.
``(b) Centralized Honey Fraud Registry.--To enhance market
transparency and deter bad actors, the Secretary shall publish and
maintain a live, centralized, and publicly accessible database to be
known as the Honey Fraud Registry. The registry shall log all final,
confirmed administrative and civil violations under this Act,
explicitly identifying the names of the violating importers, commercial
packers, foreign suppliers, and associated brand names.
``SEC. 6. DISPOSITION OF NONCOMPLIANT COMMODITIES.
``(a) Imported Commodities.--Any imported lot labeled as honey that
fails to comply with the Standard of Identity established under Section
3 shall be issued a mandatory refusal of admission. The owner of the
refused commodity shall have a maximum of 90 days to safely re-export
the shipment out of United States jurisdiction. If the shipment is not
re-exported within 90 days, it shall be subject to mandatory
destruction under Federal oversight at the owner's expense. Fraudulent
or non-compliant imports shall not be permitted to be re-labeled,
downgraded, or re-classified as industrial sweetener, bakery syrup, or
any other food ingredient for sale within the United States.
``(b) Domestic Commodities.--In the case of domestic honey
determined by the Secretary to fail the Standard of Identity solely due
to quality or processing parameters (such as elevated HMF or depressed
Diastase activity) but verified to be 100 percent pure bee product, the
Secretary may permit the domestic producer to re-label and legally
divert the product into secondary animal feed or commercial baking
ingredient channels.
``SEC. 7. TRANSITION RULES.
``(a) Interim Certification and Compliance Step.--Prior to the
final publication and effective date of the comprehensive Federal
Standard of Identity required under Section 3, all imported honey and
domestic blends shall be required to submit a verified Certification of
Testing as a condition of entry or commercial distribution.
``(b) Testing Protocols.--The Certification of Testing required
under subsection (a) shall confirm that the lot has undergone
analytical evaluation demonstrating authenticity and the absence of
foreign sugars. The type, methodology, and frequency of such testing
shall follow best practices established and periodically updated by the
National Honey Center of Excellence.
``(c) Commercial Safe Harbor.--To prevent logjams at major shipping
ports during database implementation, the Secretary shall permit
provisional entry under bond for any lot possessing a valid
Certification of Testing as outlined in this section. This interim rule
shall expire immediately upon the implementation of the final rule
under Section 3.
``SEC. 8. MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING (COOL) FOR HONEY.
``(a) Inclusion as Covered Commodity.--Section 281(2)(A) of the
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638(2)(A)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new clause:
```(xii) Honey.'.
``(b) Specific Labeling Designations for Blends.--Section 282(a) of
the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638a(a)) is amended
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
```(5) Special origin notice for honey.--
```(A) Order of predominance.--In the case of
retail packages containing a blend of honeys
originating from multiple nations, the label shall
explicitly list all countries of origin in exact
descending order of predominance by weight.
```(B) The 5-percent disclosure floor.--A country
of origin shall only be required to be listed in the
blend disclosure statement if the honey sourced from
that specific nation constitutes 5 percent or more of
the total net weight of the retail package.
```(C) USA protection principle.--The terms
``United States'', ``USA'', or ``Product of USA'' may
only be positioned in the leading, first position of
the country of origin statement if the United States is
the primary country of origin by weight within the
container.
```(D) Visual conspicuity (the origin box).--The
origin notification required under this paragraph shall
be prominently displayed on the Principal Display Panel
(front label) of the retail package, or enclosed within
a highly visible, conspicuous, and bordered graphic
known as an ``Origin Box''.'.
``(c) Small Domestic Producer Safe Harbor.--The Secretary of
Agriculture shall, through notice-and-comment rulemaking, establish a
small producer safe harbor definition based on annual volume or
revenue. Small-scale domestic apiaries meeting this definition shall be
exempt from the retail COOL labeling requirements of this section,
provided the honey sold is 100 percent domestically produced and
packed.''.
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