Britain’s beekeepers are backing proposed new rules to combat fraud in the supply chain, ensuring a jar of honey can be traced on its journey of up to 5,000 miles from the beehive to the shop shelf.
The European parliament has agreed new labelling rules and a project to establish a traceability system for honey from harvesting to the consumer. The proposed rules are part of an overhaul of the “breakfast directives”, including the honey directive.
Honey producers and sellers in the UK want the rules to be adopted in Britain. Honey is one of the most common foods targeted by fraudsters, with a European Commission investigation finding last March that 46% of sampled products were suspected of having been adulterated.
Lynne Ingram, master beekeeper at Wesley Cottage Bees, near Bridgwater in Somerset and chair of the Honey Authenticity Network UK, said: “The changes to the EU honey directive are a positive step forward in stopping the trade in adulterated honey. It will give consumers more confidence about the quality and authenticity of the honey they buy.”
Under current rules in the EU and UK, there is no requirement to identify the countries of origin for honey blended from more than one country. The country of origin will have to be labelled under the proposed new EU regulations and new research conducted to identify digital solutions to track honey along the supply chain.
The government faces pressure to ensure honey producers provide the same information for UK consumers. The government has previously said that country of origin labelling for honey would be “highly burdensome” and increase the cost of production.
Iain Millar, co-founder of the Scottish Bee Company, said: “I hope the UK will follow suit, otherwise consumers here will be given much less information about their food than their European counterparts. Country of origin labelling is a crucial part of understanding honey provenance.”
China is the biggest exporter of honey, with the UK its biggest customer. China exported more than 156,000 tons of honey in 2022, with the UK importing more than 34,000 tons. The international supply chain of honey can be lucrative for fraudsters, who adulterate produce with cheaper sugar syrup. Chinese honey has been targeted, with industrial units there advertising fructose syrup to mix into honey, claiming it can evade the most common tests used by regulators.
Tests by German laboratories on UK supermarket honey in recent years – which have been privately commissioned – have suggested potential adulteration, but the results have been rejected by importers and supermarkets as unreliable. The Food Standards Agency says more work is required to establish reliable tests to detect adulterated honey.
Last year testing of imported honey by the European Commission found the highest number of suspicious consignments originated from China, with 66 out of 89 declared suspicious. All 10 samples from the UK were suspected of adulteration, but this could be honey produced in other countries then re-exported by the UK.
Chinese honey is also controversial among many beekeepers for the common practice of extracting honey before it has matured in the hives and artificially drying it to reduce the moisture. The legal definition of honey is that it should be allowed to mature in the beehive.
Prof Norberto Garcia, chair of the beekeeping economy commission of Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations, said: “The production of unripe honey is an unfair mode of production that illegally speeds the process of maturation, damaging the honest traditional production modes.
“It impacts honest beekeepers and means a deception of customers since they do not receive the product they expect and pay for,” he said. He added that Apimondia welcomed the updating of the honey directive.
A Defra spokesperson said: “We are aware of the recent EU proposals in relation to honey and, while we understand there is a provisional agreement on the proposals, they are not yet fully adopted.
“We are considering their technical detail and working with UK producers, businesses, and stakeholders to back British exports and minimise any impact. Any decision on our own policy will focus on maintaining our existing high food standards, protecting consumers, and supporting businesses and consumer choice at a range of price points.”
The British Honey Importers and Packers Association said: “BHIPA and its members have for many years worked closely in a proactive and transparent manner with the regulators in the UK and continue to do so to ensure that honey supplied to the UK market conforms to legislation, which is rigorously enforced by the relevant authorities. “The BHIPA supports initiatives that provide greater assurance and transparency of provenance to UK consumers. Country of origin is already declared on single source honeys in the UK.
“Any future decisions regarding the different methods of honey production globally would need careful consideration to ensure certain honeys are not discriminated against simply based on country of origin.”