Bill Makes It Easier To Buy Raw Honey
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WBBM/CBS) -- When it's time for the next farmers' market, it will be easier for you to buy raw honey.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Dave Dahl reports, a law set to take effect Jan. 1 benefits the state's beekeepers. The state House sponsor, state Rep. Dan Reitz (D-Steeleville), says some people prefer raw honey to the kind you find in, say, a plastic bottle that looks like a bear.
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"It's a good natural product. It provides a great avenue for a number of our people in the rural areas to produce this and to make some income on it, but more than anything else, just to keep the bees as part of our process through the agricultural needs of the state of Illinois," Reitz said.
The bill, SB 2959, amends the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to prohibit state regulation of raw honey production.
Reitz couldn't resist making a pun.
"I think overall, it was a good piece of legislation; probably one of the sweetest bills that I've ever passed," he said.
Raw honey is honey that is extracted from beehives without adding heat. Some doctors say raw honey has medical applications, particularly as treatment for allergy symptoms.
