Michigan Administrative Code
Department - Agriculture and Rural Development
Food and Dairy Division
RegulationNo 505 - Honey
Section R. 285.505.1 - Sale of honey

(1) No person shall offer or expose for sale, have in possession with intent to sell, or sell, extracted honey in retail packages that does not conform to the standards of the United States department of agriculture for U.S. grade fancy.

(2) In addition, the package must be clearly labeled "white," "amber," or "dark" according to the color of the honey contained therein compared to the standard scale of the Pfund honey grader.

(3) No person shall offer or expose for sale, have in possession with intent to sell, or sell, comb honey that does not conform to the standards of the United States department of agriculture for U.S. grade No. 2, or better, unless each package be clearly marked on the outside "cull." Each package must be marked with the minimum net weight of the honey it contains.

(4) This rule shall not apply to the beekeeper when offering honey produced by himself direct to the consumer.

(5) A certificate of grade will be issued to any person or firm packing honey in the state of Michigan who submits a sample for inspection to the bureau of foods and standards, department of agriculture, Lansing, Michigan. The packer will be authorized to reproduce this certificate on any package containing honey having the same characteristics as the sample, within prescribed limits.

(6) The services of the state inspector will be available to grade bulk packages (cases of comb honey or 60-pound cans of extracted honey). Application for such inspection may be made by any producer, shipper, buyer, or prospective buyer of honey. The applicant shall provide the labor incident to handling the honey for the purpose of taking samples, and will be charged a fee of 1c per case of comb honey and 1 1/2c per 60-pound can of extracted honey inspected.