FFDC 403(a)(1) states: "A food shall be deemed to be misbranded its labeling is false or misleading in any particular..."
Clearly, calling maltodextrin "honey powder", or calling something "Honey Roasted" when only negligible honey is used are false and misleading willful criminal violations of the law.
FFDC 403(c) continues: "If it is an imitation of another food, unless its label bears, in type of uniform size and prominence, the word "imitation" and, immediately thereafter, the name of the food imitated."
Clearly, "honey powder", "dried honey", "honey solids", and other hand-waving sorts of attempts to use the word "honey" to describe something that is not honey at all should be clearly marked "Imitation Honey". High-fructose corn syrup is also "imitation honey", and so is sugar, and every other sweetener that is included in a greater quantity than honey when the word "Honey" is featured in the name of the product or on the front of the box.
FFDC 403(f) further defines misbranding to be: "If any word, statement, or other information required by or under authority of this Act to appear on the label or labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness (as compared with other words, statements, designs, or devices, in the labeling) and in such terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use."
A recent study by the National Honey Board (NHB) and Fleishman-Hillard shows that "virtually all consumers when presented with a product with the word honey in its name, expect the product to not only actually contain honey, but also use honey as the primary sweetener." This means that we now have clear evidence that can be used to prosecute offending companies.
Companies that hide or otherwise obscure their disclaimer as to their use of imitation honey, honey subsitutes, or "natural and artificial flavoring" in fine print or non-contrasting colors are also in violation of the law in regard to the very large print use of the term "honey".
There are some who have fallen victim to the spin of the food companies, who claim that because there is no "standard of identity" for honey, they can do whatever they like. One does not need any paperwork at all to know that that only thing that can be called "honey" is a unique substance made by bees, unadulterated in any way by man.
There are others who point to the European Union's Codex standard for honey, but this is a document designed to simply block imported honey, not an honest attempt to define honey. (Europe has cool weather, so they define very low HMF levels, as their hives are never exposed to weeks of temperatures in the 90s, making the document nothing of value, but merely a cynical non-tariff barrier to trade.)
So, we are making the facts easy to find, in hopes that enough beekeepers will call attention to the database, and interest regulators in enforcing the laws on the books. Sure, we like to see food companies buy and use honey, but if they are going to put "Honey" in large print on the front label, not putting a large amount of actual honey in the box is fraud, pure and simple.
