Committee backs compromise allowing small beekeepers to bottle honey for retail with registration and minimum sanitary standards

The Kansas Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted to pass House Bill 2158 favorably as amended, adopting a compromise that allows qualifying beekeepers to sell packaged honey and honeycombs at retail without holding a full food-establishment license.

Reviser Lawrence told the committee that House Bill 2158 “would permit beekeepers who meet certain requirements to sell packaged honey and honeycombs without holding a food establishment or food processing plant license.” Senator Titus offered an amendment that the committee approved and described as a compromise: it limits retail sales under the exemption to $25,000 annually (down from a previously discussed $50,000 threshold), requires at-cost registration with the Kansas Department of Agriculture, allows the department to issue minimum sanitary standards limited to packaging and bottling, and requires labeling that the product is “not subject to routine inspection” if the producer lacks a full license. The registration carries no fee, Senator Titus said.

Supporters and committee members emphasized the distinction between peer-to-peer/farmers-market sales and placing product into retail. Senator Bowser, who said he had experience in the honey industry, argued for the amendment and noted food-safety evidence in testimony: “There’s been honey found in Egyptian tombs from 3,000 years ago, and you can eat it today and not…