National Honey Board
Voluntary Quality Assurance Program
Extracting Facility Survey
Questions and Answers
Why Do We Need a Voluntary Quality Assurance Program?
The National Honey Board (NHB) Voluntary Quality Assurance program was developed by the honey industry for the honey industry. During a honey industry roundtable in 2000, “protecting the wholesome image of honey” was designated the number one priority. This action coincided with growing concern among consumers about food safety. To help address these issues, NHB was given the authority to establish a Voluntary Quality Assurance program in 2003.
What Is It the Voluntary Quality Assurance Program?
The program is a tool to help honey producers maintain the highest standards of quality. The extracting facility survey is just one component of the program. Plans call for the program to include quality assurance practices for honey production and packing, with the ultimate goal of honey producers being able to achieve a quality seal for their honey.
What is the Extracting Facility Survey?
The extracting facility survey was developed by honey producers. It is modeled after the Food & Drug Administration’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), which honey producers are currently required to meet. The survey assesses and rates quality levels for various extracting facility components and practices, including building conditions, sanitary facilities, water quality records and program, transportation and storage, equipment, personnel, sanitation and pest control, and recalls. Download a PDF copy of the survey form
Why Should I Participate in the Survey?
Food safety scares have been prominent in the industry in recent years from salmonella in almonds and spinach, to beef and mad cow disease, and even safety issues with peanut butter and pet food!
To date, honey has been blessed with a strong reputation for purity and wholesomeness. Even so, recent events have increased the level of scrutiny of many products, including honey. Honey producers are also food consumers, and as consumers everyone wants to consume products that are safe. The Voluntary Quality Assurance Program is one way to show consumers the honey industry’s desire to confirm and reassure consumers throughout the world about the safety of our honey.
Depending upon how you score in the survey, you will receive a Quality Assurance certificate that you can display. You could also use your participation and resulting score in marketing your honey.
How Does the Program Work?
If you are interested in participating in the honey extraction facility survey, contact NHB at honeybuzz@nhb.org or at 800-553-7162. You will be provided a registration form and a copy of the survey. Arrangements will be made for a day to conduct the survey. The survey normally takes several hours to conduct
Who Conducts the Survey?
The survey will be conducted by representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service Processed Products branch in coordination with NHB. The NHB Quality Assurance Committee has been working closely with this branch during the last year to educate and train them about some of the unique aspects of honey extracting process. They will be using a survey developed by honey producers.
How Much Does It Cost?
The survey will cost approximately $500 to $1,000. Costs can be kept down by surveyors conducting multiple surveys in a state or region, since travels costs are part of the total cost of the survey. So to keep costs down, you could contact your beekeeping neighbors and friends to encourage them to participate in the survey.
How Do I Prepare for the Survey?
You will receive a copy of the survey in advance to review. An NHB representative will be able to guide you through the survey and answer any questions.
How Is the Survey Scored?
During the survey, you receive points for each item/criteria in the 10 survey categories, with a possible total points of 242. Some sections or single survey criteria are given additional weight and count for a higher percentage of the total score. Score ratings will be awarded based on the percentage of total possible points.
90-100% - Superior
80-90% - Excellent
70-80% - Satisfactory
Certificates will be awarded for the ratings listed above. If your score is under 70 percent, you will not receive a certificate. It is possible to receive a certificate if you score a zero on an item. Scoring a zero does not necessarily mean you will have to correct, or make a change related to that item. Changes only need to be made to any area considered a critical deficiency.
What are Critical Deficiencies?
Critical deficiencies are practices or procedures that render a product unsafe or unfit for human consumption. USDA and FDA recognize that extracted honey destined for further processing is an unrefined product and may contain normally occurring defects such as paint, wood, bees and insects that will be removed in the final products. However, evidence of metal or glass in honey would be considered a critical deficiency, along with infestation of rodents or other pests in food products processing or storage. Prior to conducting the survey, an NHB representative can help you identify any critical deficiencies so that can be corrected before the survey.
Therefore, it is important to note that if you are found to have any critical deficiencies, that is procedures or practices that render product unsafe or unfit for human consumption, if left uncorrected, are subject to regulation. This means that any of these procedures or practices will require corrective action. In addition, a certificate may not be issued until such corrective action is taken.
Once you correct any critical deficiencies, the surveyors can return to your facility to review the correction and give you your score.