Honey guidance published

Wednesday 24 September 2003

Guidance Notes to accompany new honey regulations have been published by the Food Standards Agency. The new regulations come into force in England on 25 September 2003.

Similar legislation will be put in place shortly in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

The new guidance aims to provide practical advice for businesses and enforcement bodies with the aim of achieving a more consistent application and enforcement of the regulations.

About the regulations

The new regulations implement EC directive 2001/110, which updates community rules covering honey. They were adopted throughout Europe in 2001.

The new harmonised rules reserve sales names for honey products that comply with certain specifications. They also lay down certain additional labelling requirements.

• There is a new requirement to label the country or countries where the honey was harvested. In the case of blended honeys, the label must indicate if any or all of it came from the EC. Terms such as 'blend of EC honeys' 'blend of non-EC honeys' or 'blend of EC and non-EC honeys' are considered appropriate.
• Honey that has been finely filtered will have to be labelled as filtered honey and there are new labelling requirements for baker's honey
• Filtered and baker's honey should not be labelled with additional information on the floral or vegetable origin; regional or topographical origin; or specific quality criteria

There has been some tightening of the limits for certain specific criteria and honey must now meet a new lower limit of 40mg/kg or less for any hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) present. HMF is a sugar-breakdown product and is used as indicator of honey quality since it increases with temperature and storage time.

The HMF rule does not apply to honey that comes from tropical climates or their blends.

About the Guidance Notes

The guidance describes the main requirements of the new regulations and sets out the major differences between the new regulations and those in operation since 1976.

They have been produced with the aim of providing informal, non-statutory advice and the text should not be taken as an authoritative statement or interpretation of the law as only the courts have this power.

Hard copies of the guidance notes can be obtained from Richard Wood on 020 7276 8154, or at the link below.

Copies of the new regulations can be obtained from the Stationery Office.

The relevant regulations are:

• Honey (England) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/ 2243)
• Honey Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (S.R.2003/ No.383)

Separate regulations for Scotland and Wales are expected to come into force in autumn 2003.