119-hr2162

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2162 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 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

 March 14, 2025

 Mr. Steube (for himself, Mr. Panetta, and Mr. Ezell) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
 Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To provide for the protection of the integrity of honey marketed in the 
 United States, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Honey Integrity Act''.

SEC. 2. STANDARD OF IDENTITY FOR HONEY.

 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall establish a standard of identity for honey in 
accordance with applicable United States Pharmacopeia standards under 

section 401 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 
341).

SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 
 MISBRANDED HONEY.

 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on enforcement actions 
taken under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et 
seq.) with respect to--

    (1) honey that is adulterated under 

section 402 of such Act 
 (21 U.S.C. 342); and

    (2) honey that is misbranded under 

section 403 of such Act 
 (21 U.S.C. 343).

SEC. 4. HONEY INTEGRITY PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program for the 
purposes of detecting economically motivated adulteration and improving 
honey integrity for honey introduced, or delivered for introduction, 
into interstate commerce. Such program shall be known as the Honey 
Integrity Program.

    (b) Testing Required.--

    (1) In general.--Pursuant to the Honey Integrity Program, 
 beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
 the Secretary shall require that each qualifying commercial 
 honey packer in the United States--
        (A) conduct testing on honey the packer intends to 
 be marketed in the United States, as described in 
 paragraph

    (2) ;
        (B) certify to the Secretary that the packer has 
 complied with the requirements of this section and that 
 the packer has no reason to believe that the packer has 
 traded in honey that has been the subject of 
 economically motivated adulteration; and
            (C) report the results of such testing to the 
 Secretary at such time and in such manner as the 
 Secretary may specify.

    (2) Testing requirements.--A qualifying commercial honey 
 packer shall ensure that testing conducted pursuant to 
 paragraph

    (1) shall--
        (A) use all the best available science, including 
 nuclear DNA testing, mitochondrial DNA testing, and any 
 other established forensic DNA identity testing 
 methods, nuclear magnetic resonance, high-resolution 
 mass spectrometry, and other tests in a combined 
 protocol designed to produce the most scientifically 
 valid outcomes with respect to detecting economically 
 motivated adulteration;
        (B) ensure that a minimum volume of honey is tested 
 to be effective according to law enforcement protocols 
 to be developed by the Secretary, in consultation with 
 the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 
 and the heads of other Federal agencies, as the 
 Secretary determines appropriate; and
            (C) be consistent with, or superior to, the best 
 practices of other countries with respect to conducting 
 testing of honey for economically motivated 
 adulteration (as defined by the Secretary).

    (3) Packer obligations.--The Secretary shall require each 
 qualifying commercial honey packer to--
        (A) report to the Secretary findings of testing 
 conducted under this section, at such time and in such 
 manner as the Secretary may specify; and
        (B) in the case of a packer identifying 
 economically motivated adulteration (as defined by the 
 Secretary) in any honey the packer intends to market in 
 the United States--
            (i) report such information to the 
 Secretary and such law enforcement officials as 
 the Secretary may require, not later than 24 
 hours after that identification; and
            (ii) refuse receipt of such honey.

    (4) Effect of ema identification.--Upon receipt of an alert 
 of the identification of economically motivated adulteration 
 (as defined by the Secretary), the Secretary shall--
        (A) investigate, test, and destroy honey determined 
 to be so adulterated after confirming results through 
 Federal laboratory findings;
        (B) maintain and share data on such identification 
 with relevant enforcement agencies at the Federal, 
 State, and local level, including the Commissioner of 
 U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Secretary of 
 Agriculture; and
            (C) maintain and share data on such identification 
 with stakeholders, including national domestic producer 
 associations.
            (c) List of Packers.--The Secretary shall--

    (1) publish, and update as necessary, a list of each 
 qualifying commercial honey packer in the United States, 
 including packers excluded by the Secretary from being 
 considered a qualifying commercial honey packer; and

    (2) distribute such list, upon initial publication, and 
 upon each update, to relevant stakeholders, as determined by 
 the Secretary.
            (d) Interagency Cooperation.--

    (1) Consultation.--In developing the testing requirements 
 under subsection

    (b) , the Secretary shall consult with the 
 Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the 
 Secretary of Agriculture, and the head of any other Federal 
 agency the Secretary determines to be appropriate, and the 
 Secretary may consult with such Commissioner, such Secretary, 
 and the heads of such other Federal agencies in otherwise 
 carrying out this section.

    (2) Resources.--In the case that the Food and Drug 
 Administration lacks the necessary resources and laboratories 
 available to test honey, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 
 the Department of Agriculture shall make available to the 
 Secretary laboratory and other resources required by the 
 Secretary for purposes of carrying out this section.

    (e) Fees and Funding.--

    (1) Assessment.--Each qualifying commercial honey packer 
 shall be subject to a fee due at such time and in such amounts 
 as the Secretary may specify.

    (2) Crediting and availability of fees.--Fees authorized 
 under paragraph

    (1) shall be collected and available for 
 obligation only to the extent and in the amount provided in 
 advance in appropriations Acts. Such fees are authorized to 
 remain available until expended.

    (3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
 to be appropriated for fees under this section an amount equal 
 to the amount necessary to carry out this section.

    (f) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) The term ``economically motivated adulteration'' means 
 any practice, such as intentionally leaving out, taking out, 
 substituting a valuable ingredient or part of a food, or adding 
 a substance to a food, that is intended to increase the value 
 of a food (as defined in 

section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, 
 and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)) that makes such food 
 adulterated within the meaning of 

section 402 of such Act (21 
 U.S.C. 342).

    (2)
        (A) The term ``qualifying commercial honey packer'' 
 means any packer who is required to pay an assessment to the 
 National Honey Board established pursuant to the Commodity 
 Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7411 
 et seq.).
        (B) Such term excludes packers who meet such criteria for 
 exclusion as the Secretary may develop.

    (3) The term ``Secretary'', except as otherwise specified, 
 means the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting 
 through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs.
 <all>