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  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #5214  by Graeme_apimanHW
 21 Nov 2019, 13:46
I often talk to beginners, and not so beginners about the need to label honey jars correctly. I had an enquiry about internet sales of honey. If you search your local Facebook area for "honey for sale" you get a large number of adverts of honey for sale in your local area, usually imported from Poland or similar in all sorts of sizes, jars and incorrect labelling. On further investigations, local farm shops and even supermarkets are selling honey with the wrong labelling. I am also sceptical about "organic honey sourced from EU and Non EU countries". Should we be reporting these sales? Is there a body who actually check these things? It's easy to say what we know we should be doing, but difficult to justify it if you see so much being sold incorrectly.
 #5215  by NigelP
 21 Nov 2019, 16:31
In what way are many of these products being incorrectly labelled?
The worst offenders that I know of are supermarkets which sell jars that are advertised as containing honey but have been found in the UK (65%) to be adulterated with other food stuffs.
Your local trading standards is the organisation to complain to about anything that is not legal on the labelling.
Details of what is required can be found at
https://www.bromley.gov.uk/leaflet/122623/3/757/d
 #5217  by Patrick
 21 Nov 2019, 22:50
I share your lack of enthusiasm for dodgy claims of “0rganic” honey. Most UK food so labelled will have to come from agricultural holdings certified by organic trade bodies to operate in certain ways.

With bees foraging over an area of many square miles, by what agreed standards is a honey judged “organic”?
 #5219  by AdamD
 22 Nov 2019, 15:20
I too have concerns about 'organic' honey when there is no control of where the bees fly or what they forage on. If we assume that a bee flies 3 km from the hive, that's 2,826 hectares of organic land (6980 acres). Does it have to be ALL organic or just some of it for the honey to be classed as organic?
 #5221  by MickBBKA
 22 Nov 2019, 22:42
NigelP wrote:
21 Nov 2019, 16:31
In what way are many of these products being incorrectly labelled?
A store in Hartlepool is selling honey with a name only. No weight, producer, Best before, country, lot/batch and some of it looks fermented so probably illegal water content. I have seen quite a lot this year on my travels around the country in farm shops, artisan stores and tourist shops. It looks very much like trading standards are either turning a blind eye or so understaffed they haven't got time to enforce the regs.

Cheers, Mick.
 #5222  by MickBBKA
 22 Nov 2019, 22:44
AdamD wrote:
22 Nov 2019, 15:20
I too have concerns about 'organic' honey when there is no control of where the bees fly or what they forage on. If we assume that a bee flies 3 km from the hive, that's 2,826 hectares of organic land (6980 acres). Does it have to be ALL organic or just some of it for the honey to be classed as organic?
My understanding is 12k radius of chemical free area.

Cheers, Mick.
 #5227  by AdamD
 23 Nov 2019, 10:30
I would hope Trading Standards are on the ball - but it depends on which area you live. And I suspect that they operate largely by public 'complaint' in some sectors.
However a month before the most recent regulations came in, they bought a jar of my honey from a local shop and the first I knew of it was a letter telling me that my honey complied with the regulations that were not yet in force. So ahead of the game in Norfolk - which is probably unusual!
 #5232  by AndrewLD
 24 Nov 2019, 10:07
I fear to ask this but what about the description "Raw Honey"? I see lots of honey so described in the USA and some over here. I believe there is a demand for honey that is not filtered (and that includes a fine strainer) but only medium strained and so whilst I comply with the regs on my jar label, the little folded card that goes with my honey (rubber banded to the neck) proudly announces "Raw Honey from our Bees". Very popular and sells well but is dimissed as "gimmick honey" by my association. The card also gives storage advice, not feeding to infants <12months etc.

I mentioned Raw Honey to a beekeeping couple I stayed with recently and they were most indignant saying it was illegal to describe honey in such a way.
Last edited by AndrewLD on 24 Nov 2019, 10:34, edited 1 time in total.
 #5233  by Cable_Fairy
 24 Nov 2019, 10:26
I have Googled Raw Honey...…….Raw honey — comes straight from the hive and is available in filtered or unfiltered forms. Regular honey — pasteurized and may contain added sugars. Pure honey — pasteurized but contains no added ingredients. ... Forest honey — made by bees that take honeydew from trees instead of nectar from flowers.