2003 Honey Labelling Requirements

The Honey (England) Regulations 2003 for labelling honey have been the subject of some confusion and BBKA has delayed publication of the exact requirements until some points had been clarified. This has been done and BBKA published an outline of the new requirements in BBKA News, June 2004. The regulations came into effect on 1st August, 2004.

ANY HONEY PACKED AFTER THAT DATE MUST FULFIL THE NEW LABELLING STANDARD.

So what must the honey producer do to conform?

REQUIRED IN THE CONSUMER'S FIELD OF VIEW (i.e.visible on the shelf.)

1. Best Before Date

The best before date can be two years from bottling but the choice of date will depend on the honey. For example, honey sold as clear honey should not show signs of crystallisation before the end date. Honey predominantly from Oil Seed Rape would therefore have a shorter shelf life than Ling or Heather Honey.

David Lishman (Warwickshire Beekeeper, June 2004) points out that the 'Best Before Date' must indicate the day, month and year. However, 'Best Before End' can be just a month or just a month and a year. The period starts from the date of packing not the date of extraction.

2. The word 'Honey'

This can be 'Honey', 'This kind of Flower Honey', 'Blossom Honey', 'This regional Honey', or 'Honeydew Honey'.

These words are reserved for Honey, and must be used to describe Honey which fulfils the specified criteria for the product. These words must not be used to describe inferior products, otherwise known as 'Baker's Honey'.

In addition, somewhere on the jar, although not necessarily in the Field of View, the following information must be shown:

3. The Country of Origin.

If the country of origin is the UK, somewhere on the label should be the words, 'Product of the UK'. Including UK in the producer's address label fulfils this requirement if a region is included on the label, e.g. 'Warwickshire Honey' in the consumer's Field of View. Blended honeys from EU countries can have the words, 'Product of the EU'. Otherwise, the label must have the words, 'Product of more than one Country'.

4. The Lot Number.

This is a batch number which identifies a jar of honey and allows traceability back to the colony and the date of processing. Traceability depends, obviously, on the beekeeper working systematically and maintaining adequate records.

The label must also display the weight of honey in the jar. This must be displayed in the consumer's Field of View and the letters must be at least equal to the minimum prescribed height for the size of jar (4mm for 454g). It goes without saying that the weight contained in the jar must be equal or greater than the weight displayed on the label. Also, the producer's name and address must be visible somewhere on the label, although not necessarily in the Field of View.

WHAT IS HONEY?
The rules to describe honey have been tightened.

• The maximum moisture content permitted is 20% for all honey with the exception of Ling heather honey, which can have a moisture content of up to 23%.
• The maximum permitted HMF content is 40mg/kg reduced from 80mg/kg.
• The minimum total of fructose and glucose combined is 60%.

Products which fail to conform to the standard cannot be labelled with the word 'Honey'.