Mike forwarded the product listing to me, for the supposedly certified
organic honey that he asked about earlier this week.  I started to dig into
it and found some interesting things.  

 

First, the product is certified through a group called OCIA, which stands
for Organic Crop Improvement Association.  They are a licensed and approved
certifying agency recognized by and current with the NOP.  Of note, the OCIA
has made a name for itself as being an international organization,
particularly helping eliminate the barriers between international organic
trade.  Hmmm.

 

Secondly, the company selling the product, YS Organic Bee Farms, is not
certified as a producer.  They are certified as a processor.  To be very
general, the NOP has two layers of organic certification possible: those who
actually create the raw materials (in this case, honey) and those who
process, package, handle and sell a finished product to the public.  It's
possible to be certified as both a producer and processor/handler. However,
it's much more common to be certified as only one or the other.  In this
case, YS Organic Bee Farms is currently certified as a processor, but not a
producer.  That may have something to do with the new NOP rules about honey
certification that Brian posted yesterday.  I haven't read through those
rules yet, and there might be something in there which would explain why a
honey producer would get licensed as a processor.  I'll try to get to the
bottom of that particular issue.  But my hunch is that a honey producer
would still have to be listed as a producer, and that a processor is still a
different animal.

 

Third, I took a looksie at the other companies listed by OCIA as being
certified for honey production.  There are only nine total listed by OCIA,
and six of the nine are listed as processors.  The three companies currently
certified by OCIA as organic honey producers (rather than processors) are in
Taiwan and Canada.

 

So I expanded my search a little, and searched on the NOP's website for all
currently licensed certified organic honey producers or processor/handlers
in the country.  This is the mother list, which will include all companies
doing business in the USA, no matter who they are certified with.  While
there are hundreds listed as processors/handlers, there are a grand total of
six companies located in the USA, certified by any licensed agency, which
are listed as honey producers.  YS Organic Bee Farms was not among them.

 

Given the information so far (and I've only dug into it for about the last
30 minute) my hunch is that the company is set up in Illinois, but is
bringing in honey certified as organic from other countries, then processing
and selling it here.  So the honey is being produced who-knows-where,
according to some other national standard, then shipped in bulk to YS
Organic Bee Farms for packaging and sale.  They are only middle-men.

 

I don't know at what point these records go from being public to private,
and whether the company's source of honey is available upon inquiry. I'd be
very curious to know where they get their honey from.  Granted, I have a
fair degree of confidence in the rigor with which the USA's organic program
is documented and inspected for items produced here.  As someone else
pointed out, those standards can be quite demanding if not draconic.
However, I don't have a lot of confidence in the diligence of some
international organic certifying agencies.  

 

Bottom line, is YS Organic Bee Farms honey contaminated with agri-chemicals?
Possibly.  Are they sourcing their honey from within this country?  I'd bet
money the answer to that is a definitive "no".

 

I'll take a look through those new NOP honey standards and see if that sheds
any light on any of this.  I'll also try to find a legitimate certified
organic honey producer right here in the USA and see if they are interested
in either educating me personally on these issues, and/or would consider
joining the list for an educated conversation on same.  For those of us
either participating in and/or committed to the mission of the NOP, this is
the sort of issue that keeps us awake at night.  So I'm rather motivated to
get some more solid answers.  I'll share if/when I do...

Kathryn Kerby

Frogchorusfarm.com
Snohomish, WA


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