# ohio honey laws?



## giant pumpkin peep (Mar 14, 2009)

First, I would like to say I am asking this just out of curiosity. I was wondering what laws in ohio there are about sticking a "honey for sale" sign in my front yard and selling 1 or 2lb bottles of honey. :scratch:


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## MrGreenThumb (Apr 22, 2007)

Just put up that darn sign and sell YOUR honey!


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

As best as I can tell, most of the regulations are for guys who sell more than 50,000 pounds of honey a year. The one thing you do have to pay attention to is the truth in labeling laws. You can get in trouble if you don't label them right.

You have to say what is in the bottle 'Raw Honey' for example.
If the bottle is less than 3 pounds, you have to give the weight in both grams and ounces.
If the bottle weighs 3 pounds or more, you have to give the weight in both pounds and kilograms.
You have the have the name of the honey producer/packer on the bottle, and the city and zip code. For example, 'giant pumpkin peep apiary, columbus OH 43xxx'.

You can buy rolls of generic blank honey label stickers. They just say honey on them, with a blank spot for you to write your name and the weight and all that info. They work fine, but you can buy fancier labels too if you prefer those.

The first time I extracted honey I was so excited I bottled it up right after I strained it. That was a mistake. All the honey in the bottles ended up with a little air bubble foam and tiny bits of floating wax at the top. I discovered the importance of letting your extracted and strained honey sit for a few days to allow stuff to float and settle out. Hopefully you don't repeat my mistake.

And remember. No sticky honey bottles, and get the label on straight. 

And get that sign in the yard and sell some honey. (If you have any honey left to sell after all your relatives and family friends have bought honey from you first.)


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

Get your sign up and get to selling. There is a great market for honey this year. If you sell out early you can always buy more honey off of me to sell.
Good luck!!


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

I had similar questions a while back and received a response from Paul Panico, Chief, Ohio Division of Food Safety.

"A beekeeper who jars honey when a minimum of seventy-five per cent of the honey is from the beekeeper's own hives is exempt from ODA inspections.
However, all packaged honey is *subject* to food sampling conducted by the director of agriculture, or a representative the director authorizes, to determine if a food product is misbranded or adulterated."

There is no problem selling from your home if your total income from honey sales is less then the limits set, as already mentioned in this thread. The only time you would be subject to inspection and testing of your product is if someone files a formal complaint with the state suspecting you are selling tainted honey or if your jars are not properly labeled. 

Sales taxes apply only if you sell other non-edible hive products such as wax, lip balm. etc. Income taxes are between you and Uncle Sam. 


Here are a couple of links for your reading pleasure. 


http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3715.023

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3715


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## Woofer (Apr 29, 2009)

Not to hijack the thread, along these same lines has anyone seen anything about having to have a license (similar to a dog license) to keep bees even as a hobby? A friend mentioned he thought he had read something along these lines and i normally wouldn't have thought twice about it, but with all the other livestock tracking the government seems so interested in i thought this might be true as first step to tracking. I hope it isn't true but I wondered if anyone else had seen anything similar?


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

Some states call it licensing but in Ohio it is your annual "Apiary Registration" @ $5.00 per site.


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## 11x (May 14, 2009)

i missed the date for registration. i dont want to pay a late fee since i just got the hive. I wonder if i can wait till next year to registar


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## giant pumpkin peep (Mar 14, 2009)

> missed the date for registration. i dont want to pay a late fee since i just got the hive. I wonder if i can wait till next year to registar


The main reason I got mine is because I live in the city and have neighbor who claims to be "allergic to everything". So If the neighbors give me junk about it I can show them my registration and there isn't much they can do. Am I supposed to get a call from the bee inpecter when he is supposed to come or do they not make it to everyone's hives?


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## FindlayBee (Aug 2, 2009)

Did you get your hive before or after the date to register? If after, I don't think you will have a problem. From my understanding, all hives that have bees in them before the registration date have to be registered by that date. If you didn't have a hive with bees before or on that date you don't have to register until the next year. I also believe that if for some reason you get inspected, the inspector will have a registration form for you to fill out. I could be wrong, I am totally new at this.


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## Durandal (Sep 5, 2007)

As Ron says...Just get to selling! 

On the registration bit. I am locking horns with the Ohio Department of Plants over registration.

The purpose of the registration is to know colony locations and inspect and keep healthy bees in Ohio.

We no longer have an inspector here in Hamilton County. I sent them a letter that they will get money for hives so long as our County gets inspections.

I can be fined and jailed (3rd Degree Misdemeanor) but I am curious as to the response. I am rather pissed. We have 150 registered beekeepers last year and more new ones in the ranks for certain and county dropped the position because of lack of funds.

Its a crock...

Not to further hijack the thread...


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

_i missed the date for registration. i dont want to pay a late fee since i just got the hive. I wonder if i can wait till next year to registar _

The local bee inspector told the beekeepers at our club meeting that if you are a new beekeeper, they will not charge you a late fee. Just check the box for new beekeeper.


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

giant pumpkin peep said:


> Am I supposed to get a call from the bee inpecter when he is supposed to come or do they not make it to everyone's hives?


In Stark County the inspector just shows up and inspects your colonies whenever he is in the area, based on his schedule. They are not obligated to call you first. 

However, if you write your phone number on your registration form along with ... "I wish to be present at inspection, call first" ... they will call you prior to checking your hives.


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