Latest reports suggest that 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.
China is said to be 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.
The European parliament is said to have 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, who is a 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.”
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There is no requirement to identify the countries of origin for honey blended from more than one country Under current rules in the EU and UK. 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, who is the 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.”
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
