Fla. honey ban ensures purity of the sweet, sticky stuff _ no additives or chemicals allowed

Fla. honey ban ensures purity of the sweet nectar

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Honey that is anything other than absolutely 100 percent pure honey isn’t welcome in Florida.

Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson announced Monday that his department is prohibiting additives and chemicals in honey produced, processed or sold in Florida.

Bronson says officials want to make sure consumers are buying a pure product. He says that in the past, honey has sometimes been cut with water or sugar, or been contaminated with insecticides and antibiotics.

The regulation takes effect July 14 and prohibits honey containing anything other than the “natural food product resulting from the harvest of nectar by honeybees.”