Alabama Honey Label Requirements
Alabama honey label requirements start with a pure honey law: only pure honey may be labeled "honey", "pure honey", "strained honey" or "liquid or extracted honey". A jar of pure honey from your hives is not a cottage food, so it carries the regular food label basics: the name, the net weight and who packed it. Stir in cinnamon or chili and it becomes a cottage food with its own 10-point label.
Required on every Alabama jar of pure honey
Alabama's honey law protects the name. For the rest of the label, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) follows the federal food label rules in the Code of Federal Regulations.
- 1The name "honey", for pure honey onlyAla. Code §§ 2-11-120, 2-11-121Alabama reserves "honey", "liquid or extracted honey", "strained honey" and "pure honey" for nectar transformed by honeybees, in the comb or out of it, sold liquid, crystallized or granulated.
- 2Net weight21 CFR 101.7In the bottom 30% of the front panel, in ounces and grams, like "NET WT 8 oz (227 g)".
- 3Name and place of business21 CFR 101.5 · 101.2(c)The packer or distributor, with street address, city, state and ZIP code, in type at least 1/16 inch tall. The street address may be left off if it is listed in a current city or phone directory.
- 4No ingredient listPure honey is a single-ingredient food, so the name says it all.
- 5No bee pictures on look-alikesAla. Code § 2-11-121(a)A product that imitates honey but isn't pure honey may not be branded "honey" or show a bee, beehive or honeycomb on its label. Bee imagery is kept for the real thing.
- Selling a honey blend?Watch outHoney mixed with anything else can't be sold or labeled as "honey". Print the ingredients on the package, with "honey" in the same size type as the others, and never call a honey look-alike "imitation".
Who regulates your honey in Alabama
Where this comes from
- Code of Alabama § 2-11-120What "honey" and "pure honey" mean in Alabama
- Code of Alabama § 2-11-121Only pure honey may be branded honey; rules for blends and look-alikes
- Code of Alabama § 2-11-122Using "imitation" and "honey" in product names
- Code of Alabama § 22-20-5.1The Cottage Food Law and its label rules
- Alabama Department of Public Health: Cottage FoodOfficial cottage food page and FAQ
- Alabama Extension: Alabama Beekeepers' Guide to Safe Honey Bottling and Correct Labeling (ANR-3251)Who regulates which honey product, with ADAI guidance
Alabama label questions
Pure honey is not. Alabama Extension calls it a raw agricultural commodity, outside the Cottage Food Law. Honey with added ingredients, like cinnamon or chili, is covered when you make it at home and sell it directly to consumers in Alabama. Alabama Cottage Food Law →
Yes, as a cottage food. Sell it directly to consumers in Alabama, in person, by phone or online, and deliver it yourself, through an agent or by mail. You need a food safety course, a label reviewed by your county health department, and a product that meets the water activity requirement, which may mean a lab test.
No. That is a health claim, and FDA has never approved a claim linking honey to allergy relief. Alabama Extension advises keeping it off labels and out of your ads.
Yes, but never as "honey". Alabama law requires an ingredient statement with "honey" in the same size type as the other ingredients. The federal name is "Blend of honey and corn syrup", or "Blend of corn syrup and honey" when there is more syrup.
No. ADPH says the limit for annual income under the Cottage Food Law has been removed. Review fees for your label do vary by county.
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