This is a very interesting topic. In may 2004, I took part in a preliminary consultation round organized by the Quebec Ministery of food, fisheries and agriculture. They had - and still have - a project of law to regulate the use of "produit fermier" (farm or farmer product ?), "produit artisanal" (artisanal product) and "produit du terroir". This project was, I think, mainly inspired by the experience of some European countries and by the organic regulation. From my notes and from the documents of the meeting, the proposed definition for "produit artisanal") was based on 3 pilars (my free - more or less adequat - translation): - exploitant travaillant à son compte (producer producing for his own business, namely an artisnal product can not be subcontracted nor beeing produced by a brandname company) - mode de fabrication traditionnel (produced by traditional processes) - matières premières traditionnelles (only traditional raw material used) I remeber I reacted on the second item. It may be applied in countries of long history that want to protect an existing high quality local production from unfair low quality production that could destroy the reputation of a name (let's say 15 years old balsamic vinegar of Molene in Italia for example). It may be difficult to apply in new countries with short artisanal and food history where markets are mainly to be devloped. I also wondered if using polystyrene hives and plastic frames was very traditional. The aim of focusing on the mean of production is to warranty the quality of the final product. So when extending the "artisnal product" concept to honeys, may be heating or blending would be better criteria. So the extension of "artisnal product" to food product may be a case by case exrecise. > > IMO most beekeepers in the USA put little effort into the honey their > bees produce. The mentality is extracting must be done as quickly as > possible and the larger the volume per day processed the better..that > kind of honey has a label too... its called a commodity, most > commodities are plentiful in supply and low in value or price. Good point. If all honeys are just generic honey, than I am afraid there will be soon no place for 20 $/hr beekeepers. But I hope there are enough flowers, honeys flavours and honeys qualities to satisfy all consumers and fit all prices. Manuka honey is such an example ! > To think that a beekeeper has little influence on the production and > subsequent processing of honey is IMO really quite simplistic and > unfortunate. I though there had been enough discussions on the list about ways to produce and process honeys to be convinced that beekeepers are - at least for a part - responsible for the quality (and safety which is another matter) of their honeys. > Do you begin to label some of your floral honey as > Artisanal honey in preparation for this trend, and > gain an early advantage in this emerging market nitch? With regard to the definition of artisanal product, I think "artisanal product" words will mean the meaning you will put in them. If you, and your local community of beekeepers, define the requirements of an artisanal honey, stick to it, implemante an audit/certification/exclusion system, then consumers will know what is an artisanal honey. Your system may not be perfect but it will be better than the clearest full blended overheated overfiltered honey - that never cristallises - on the shelves of you local favorite Wall Mart. Your consumers may say for example that an artisanal honey is a honey produced by local beekeepers on local flowers, non heated, without the use of pesticide, etc. Your job to promote your way of working, your artisanal production. But if you are just using words without sense in order to take advangate of a trend on the market, you may earn more money on short term, but consumers will sooner or later feel that words on your labels are meaningless. You - and other artisanal honeys producers in the same time - will loose their confidence and you will ruin a niche market. So sad for good local floral honeys, isn't it ? Hervé Laval, Qc, Canada -- Hervé www.emelys.com -- http://www.fastmail.fm - The professional email service -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---