Are you buying funny honey? Odds are, you are.

Most honey labeled as “Local” and/or “Texas” honey is actually not produced in Texas.

Most stores buy honey from “honey” packing businesses in Texas, then consider it a “local” and/or “Texas” product since they purchased it from a Texas business.

Truth is, most of the honey is not produced in Texas.

The National Honey Board says the average annual honey consumption per capita is 1.9lbs.

Texas has ~30 million people. That is 45 million pounds of honey consumed. 

The USDA NASS survey results for 2023 (posted in 2024) put Texas honey production at 3,885,000 pounds of Texas honey. 

That means 8.6% of the honey consumed in Texas was from Texas, excluding Texas honey that was sold in bulk to honey packers that blended it with imported or other domestic honey.

Consumers are being deceived and robbed of information they deserve to know.

How is this possible?

Texas Ag code does not define honey labeled as “Local” and/or “Texas” to be produced in Texas.

Honey packing businesses and stores make higher margins by purchasing imported honey (from outside of Texas) and selling it as a “local” and/or “Texas” product.

What can we do?

Support our petition to make a change. Contact your representative and let them know you support this bill that will come forward in a few weeks.

SUPPORT YOUR TEXAS BEEKEEPERS!

The following bill has been drafted:

NOTE AN EDIT: subsection (b) 80% changed to 75%

We are not trying to define “local”, but we should agree, it should be produced in Texas.

Predominantly defined as 75% is a compromise with legislators. It allows for pollens that might be inadvertently transported as bees pollinate crops and produce honey from other states by many commercial beekeepers.