For local beekeepers, Thursday’s Flathead City-County Board of Health meeting ended in disappointment.

During the sometimes intense meeting, Arvon Fielding decried a recent Montana law requiring him to purchase permits to sell raw honey at farmers markets.

“I’ve been keeping bees for 16 years,” said Fielding, owner of Never Give Up Apiary in Kalispell. “And now I’m being told to get a hamburger license. I don’t sell food at farmer’s markets, I sell honey.”

Fielding, along with the owners of two other apiaries in the valley, have begun the process of applying for permits — a $110 “food processing” permit.

Several elected officials supported the beekeepers.

“This law is wrong for the people in the Flathead and it is wrong for the people of this state,” said state Sen. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse. “Let’s not create a hornet’s nest here. Let’s let the bees do their thing and make honey and let people sell it at the farmers market.”

State Rep. Jerry O’Neil and Flathead County Commissioner Gary Krueger also spoke up in favor of personal freedom and less government overreach.

“This may be a small deal for some people,” O’Neil said. “But it isn’t a safety issue. I’ve been in the Legislature for 12 years and I’ve never seen a bill about the dangers of honey.”

Despite the honeyed words from elected officials, beekeepers and consumers, health board members had their hands tied.

“You don’t have legislative authority here,” Public Health Officer Joe Russell told the crowd. “Honey is not a potentially hazardous food, but that doesn’t make it exempt. It’s still a food.”

The board, despite urging from elected representatives to disregard the law, held firm, denying Fielding’s appeal 4-2.

Raw fruits, vegetables and grains may be sold at farmer’s markets without a license. Under the new Montana law, raw honey is considered a prepared food and must be regulated as such. For years, beekeepers were able to sell the raw honey as an unprocessed food.

Montana code states: “A license is not required of a gardener, farm owner or farm operator who sells raw and unprocessed farm products or whole shell eggs at a farmer’s market.”

The clarified law states that because beekeepers heat and jar honey, it qualifies as a processed food and is thus subject to licensing requirements.

To demonstrate how ridiculous he found this claim, Fielding pulled out two jars from a paper grocery bag.

All eyes were on him as he shook the first, filled with an amber substance.

“This is honey,” he said.

The second jar he shook more rapidly.

“These are dead bees. I defy anyone to plant these dead bees, cover them up with dirt, sprinkle some water on them and create that,” he said, pointing to the honey jar. “I am exempt from state licensing requirements.”

In March, county health inspectors went to Fielding’s facility and found numerous violations, including cats in the processing facility and chemicals stored above the honey storage area. He disagreed and filed an appeal.

Dr. David Myerowitz, a member of the health board, had concerns with the health standards of these apiaries and resented the fact elected officials were blaming the board for enforcing the laws the Legislature had set down.

“What are you doing to change this?” he asked Brown.

The board enforces state codes on a local level .

“I use raw honey for medicinal purposes,” said Marcy Johnson, a local mother. “It helps with allergies. It is a lot more than just food.”

The Legislature could change the law in 2015.

“If the law is not meeting the citizens’ needs, it needs to be changed,” Russell said. “We got kind of caught in a weird legislative period, but it doesn’t give us the right to break the law.”

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.