HLS or FDA Honeyhouse Inspections

[sqkcrk]

Has anyone had a visit from Homeland Security or the Food and Drug Administration? An Inspection? What was it like? What did they inspect? The facility? Your records? What? I have heard that this is going on across the Nation, but I don't have any first hand information. Does anyone?

Thanks.

[dfortune]

Sorry i was mistaken. Disregard.

[sqkcrk]

No, HLS. They aren't just an anti-terrorist organization. Anumber of years ago, sometime soon after 2001, people were told that if they were doing any kind of honey related business they needed an HLS Registration Number. I looked into it and found it difficult to do via the internet, so I gave up. I don't know if this has anything to do w/ what I have just heard about or not, but the person who brought it up asked about HLS and FDA.

There was a Thread recently from a beekeeper in Delaware who has an FDA inspection, which seemed strange to me. I would like to know more about that too. I'll have to try and find that Thread and the OPer.

[jim lyon]

I registered sometime in the year after 9/11 as honey buyers were told by HLS via the FDA that it would be a requirement. Some buyers still ask for your FDA number when making a purchase. All transported honey was to be in sealed trailers in an attempt to guaranty that all food products were as secure as possible. I suppose the master plan called for FDA inspections of all food production facilities but perhaps folks decided that it just wasn't workable to inspect every agricultural operation of any size in the entire country and even if they did it wouldn't protect against criminal intent.

[Skinner Apiaries]

wow. That's federal dollars at work, rattle the sabre then... do nothing. Sounds like a good way to get fined for no reason. I wouldn't get one unless you really really need it, Mark.

[sqkcrk]

I haven't verified it yet, but here is a third or fourth hand description of what an HLS In spector did. Suypposedly after finding 16 infractions, Health Code I believe, an Inspector looking at a sliding window told the owner he needed a screen on the stationery part of the window. When the owner said, "But that part doesn't move. It doesn't need a screen.", supposedly the Inspector said something like "Wanna go for 17?"

In another case while filling some bvarrels w/ honey a worker stuck their finger in the stream of honey and then tasted it. The Inspector insisted that the barrel of honey had to be dumped, as it was now unfit for human consumption.

I gotta talk to someone closer to the actual people who have had encounters w/ these Inspectors.

[suttonbeeman]

I have personally spoke to someone who was inspected by FDA in the past few weeks. Finger in honey is true as is window screen. They will be reinspected and it cost yo 275.00 per hour. The woman stayed at the guys place 2 days on initial inspection. I have been to this persons honey house. One of the best and cleanest if not the cleanest I've been in. Class guy and operation. The inspector was a large minority lady who had NEVER been in a honey house. Nothing against minorities but I wonder about quotas in hiring. Now here is the BIG problem...her attitude! Upon arriving she stated she had a search warrant to inspect his building. And according to the Bio terrorism act she had full authority to seize destroy take possession of and to do ANYTHING she do desired to do. That attitude is reason for being unemployed. The Bio terrorism act was never intended to be applied in this manner. Remember she is our employee and this is inexcusable. Folks if we don't take our country back from liberal idiots and crooks we are going to be worse off than the poor people in north Korea. Now if MS. Barney Fyfe stays two days on reinspection you will writ. e a check for over 5,000. A good reason yo listen to Ron Paul. This woman could take your honey just because she wants too and your barrells are gone.....nothing you can do legally. If you ask them about all the Chinese honey with lead and chloramphenicol from china they say they are not there to inspect china. But FDA claims they don't Gabe the man power to check all the crap from china. Folks its time to wake up and smell the coffee call your representatives....vote them out if they don't get action. Absurd and waste of tax payers hard earned $$$

[sqkcrk]

So it was FDA and not HLS? Just to pin that down.

A Warrant? Do you get to read the Warrant and have a Lawyer present? What if you told all your workers to go home? It's not like FDA can make you work, can they?

It costs to get inspected? That sounds outrageous. You get penalized because time doesn't move any faster than it does?

Any real idea why this started up now? Or has this been going on for longer than we have noticed and only now we notice because of these rediculous findings?

It's apparently Law, so what makes you think a different administration would change the actions of an Agency?

[wildbranch2007]

here is the discussion last year where they shut down some locations in georgia.

http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...e-with-the-FDA

[sqkcrk]

it cost yo 275.00 per hour.

Now that's a smart way to fund a regulation.