House File 458 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 458 BY BROWN-POWERS , MEYER , GAINES , BENNETT , MOMMSEN , HUNTER , KEARNS , HANSON , BRANHAGEN , THEDE , MASCHER , LENSING , ABDUL-SAMAD , H. MILLER , and GASSMAN A BILL FOR An Act requiring that honey packaged in this state and sold 1 or offered for sale to consumers be labeled, and making 2 penalties applicable. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 2274YH (4) 86 da/nh

H.F. 458 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 191.8A Label requirements for 1 honey. 2 1. As used in this section, “honey” means the substance 3 capable of use as human food that is produced by bees of 4 the genus apis mellifica, and derived from the nectar of 5 plants, secretions of living parts of plants, or excretions of 6 plant-sucking insects on the living parts of plants, that the 7 bees collect, transform, deposit, dehydrate, store, and leave 8 in a honeycomb to ripen and mature. 9 2. The department shall adopt rules prescribing a label 10 that must be affixed to a container of honey when the honey 11 is packaged in this state and sold or offered for sale to 12 consumers on a retail basis, to the extent such rules are 13 allowed under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 14 U.S.C. ch. 9, subch. IV, including applicable regulations 15 adopted by the United States food and drug administration. 16 3. The department shall adopt rules that prescribe the size 17 of the label, where the label may be affixed to the container, 18 and the size and type of letters printed on the label. The 19 label shall include all of the following: 20 a. The name and address of the person packaging the honey. 21 b. The net weight of the honey. 22 c. The grade assigned to the honey and the color for the 23 honey of that grade. The honey may be assigned no grade. 24 d. Whether the container contains an ingredient other than 25 honey or any form of additive. 26 4. Nothing in this section shall prevent the department 27 from adopting rules that allow a person to supplement the 28 information required to be contained on the label, including 29 but not limited to a further description of the quality or 30 type of honey being sold or offered for sale. The label may 31 identify a predominant flavor of the honey or the principal 32 source from which the honey is derived so long as it is clearly 33 predominant and readily distinguishable. 34 Sec. 2. RULEMAKING. In adopting rules under this Act, the 35 -1- LSB 2274YH (4) 86 da/nh 1/ 2

H.F. 458 department of agriculture and land stewardship shall consult 1 with interested persons including but not limited to the Iowa 2 honey producers association and Sioux honey association. 3 EXPLANATION 4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 5 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 6 BILL’S PROVISIONS. This bill amends Code chapter 191 which 7 authorizes the department of agriculture and land stewardship 8 to regulate food sold or offered for sale, including by 9 requiring that labels be affixed to food containers. The 10 bill requires the department to adopt rules prescribing a 11 label that must be affixed to a container of honey when the 12 honey is packaged in this state and sold or offered for sale 13 to consumers on a retail basis. The department’s rules must 14 comply with the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and 15 regulations of the United States food and drug administration 16 adopted pursuant to that law. The label prescribed by the 17 department must include: (1) the name and address of the 18 person packaging the honey, (2) the net weight of the honey, 19 (3) the color and grade assigned to the honey, and (4) whether 20 the container includes other ingredients or additives. The 21 department may allow a person to supplement the information 22 contained on the label. In adopting the rules, the department 23 must consult with interested persons. 24 ENFORCEMENT. The department may restrain a person violating 25 the bill’s provisions by petitioning the district court where 26 the violation occurs for injunctive relief (Code section 27 191.10). 28 PENALTY. A person violating the bill’s provisions is guilty 29 of a simple misdemeanor (Code section 189.21). A simple 30 misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 31 days or a fine of at least $65 but not more than $625 or by 32 both. 33 -2- LSB 2274YH (4) 86 da/nh 2/ 2