Online food related blogs are all over the $1000 fee. What's fair about a multinational 
with significant facilities to inspect paying the same as Homer the Honey Man? 

I am mailing a jar of my best honey to my senator, Amy Klobuchar, with a short note 
commenting on how honey is never involved with recalls and why,  and also requesting 
they change the rule for the $1000 fee to be more fair for small producers. 

One online food blog pointed out the draft appears to exempt farms from the new rules. 
This conflicts with other language dealing with food processors and rules concerning 
traceability. I think its fair to say its quite unclear how far reaching a new food safety law 
would have on the beekeepers who pack and or sell their own honey. 

Fortunately the eat local movement is growing bigger every day and we have lots of 
consumers who will also be rooting for the small producers. I encourage everyone to look 
into this issue and contact their representative.  

As someone else pointed out here in this thread, one big positive is the myriad of 
exemptions concerning country of origin labeling may be over and this should help 
American honey producers.  

What does seem certain is a shift from honey being mostly a USDA concern to FDA 
oversight. 

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