The USDA famously grades beef – Prime, Choice, Select — but did you know they grade honey, too?

And while it's good to know that your honey has been graded, it can be misleading: just because honey says "U.S. Grade A", that doesn't mean it's from the U.S.

U.S. Grade A ≠ Made in USA

Let's compare two examples of honey packaging. The first is from the back of our Local Hive Wildflower Honey bottle:

Notice how Local Hive says both "U.S. Grade A Strained" and "Made in USA".

Every drop of Local Hive is 100% U.S. honey sourced from American beekeepers, so we make it clear with a "MADE IN USA" on the back – and a big sticker on the front. We work with these beekeepers because their pollination helps boost agriculture and crop production all across the U.S. And their honey a unique local taste thanks to the pollen and nectar inside. 

Compare that to this second example from the front label of a generic mass-produced honey:

Notice both "U.S. Grade A" and "Product of USA, Canada, Argentina".

Confusing indeed! Perhaps an even bigger shocker: "product of the USA" doesn't necessarily mean the honey inside comes from bees and beekeepers in the U.S. It could simply mean that the honey was bottled in the U.S., or even that American bees were taken to a foreign country to forage and make honey there.

So what does "U.S. Grade A" honey even mean, then?

It means that the honey has been inspected and meets the USDA's quality standards for honey. The USDA inspects honey that's imported from other countries and sold in the U.S., but that inspection doesn't tell you the full story of where the honey comes from or what's inside.

Here's the grading rubric used by the USDA to grade unfiltered (strained) honey. According to their website, Grade A honey is any honey that scores at least 90 points according to flavor, aroma, defects and soluble solids (the parts of the honey that aren't water, like enzymes, pollen, and sugars.)

"U.S. Grade A" is a positive sign, but you should be asking more of your honey, like who made it and where it comes from. You'll quickly find that most honey brands don't want you to know. But at Local Hive, we're proud to partner with American beekeepers we know and trust to bottle more than 23 honey blends from all over the U.S.