The Honey (England) Regulations 2003

Regulation 2(1)

SCHEDULE 1 SPECIFIED HONEY PRODUCTS AND THEIR RESERVED DESCRIPTIONS

Column 1	Column 2
Reserved descriptions	Specified honey product
Note 1: The description “honey” may be used for specified honey products specified in column 2 of items 1a, 1b, 2, 5 and 6 of Schedule 1. Note 2: Where the specified honey product specified in column 2 of item 9 is used as an ingredient in a compound foodstuff, the reserved description “honey” may be used in the product name of that compound foodstuff. Note 3: Except in the case of products specified in column 2 of items 7 and 8 a specified honey product may additionally be described by— (i) its floral or vegetable origin, if the product comes wholly or mainly from the indicated source and possesses the organoleptic, physio-chemical and microscopic characteristics of the source; (ii) its regional, territorial or topographical origin, if the product comes entirely from the indicated source; and (iii) its specific quality criteria.
1a.  blossom honey or} 1b.  nectar honey}	honey obtained from the nectar of plants
2.  honeydew honey	honey obtained mainly from excretions of plant sucking insects (Hemiptera) on the living part of plants or secretions of living parts of plants
3.  comb honey	honey stored by bees in the cells of freshly built broodless combs or thin comb foundation sheets made solely of beeswax and sold in sealed whole combs or sections of such combs
4a.  chunk honey or} 4b.  cut comb in honey}	honey which contains one or more pieces of comb honey
5.  drained honey	honey obtained by draining de-capped broodless combs
6.  extracted honey	honey obtained by centrifuging de-capped broodless combs
7.  pressed honey	honey obtained by pressing broodless combs with or without the application of moderate heat not exceeding 45°C
8.  filtered honey	honey obtained by removing foreign inorganic or organic matters in such a way as to result in the significant removal of pollen
9.  baker’s honey	honey which is— (a) suitable for industrial uses or as an ingredient in other foodstuffs which are then processed; and (b) may— (i) have a foreign taste or odour, (ii) have begun to ferment or have fermented, or (iii) have been overheated

Regulation 2(2)

SCHEDULE 2 SPECIFICATIONS FOR SPECIFIED HONEY PRODUCTS

Note 1: When placed on the market as honey or used in any product intended for human consumption, honey must not: (a) except in the case of baker’s honey, have any foreign tastes or odours, have begun to ferment or have fermented, or have been heated in such a way that the natural enzymes have been either destroyed or significantly inactivated. (b) have an artificially changed acidity. Note 2: No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic or organic matter.
1.	Sugar content
1.1.	Fructose and glucose content (sum of both)
	blossom honey	not less than 60 g/100 g
	honeydew honey, blends of honeydew honey with blossom honey	not less than 45 g/100 g
1.2.	Sucrose content
	in general	not more than 5 g/100 g
	false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Menzies Banksia (Banksia menziesii), French honeysuckle (Hedysarum), red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), leatherwood (Eucryphia lucida, Eucryphia milliganii), Citrus spp.	not more than 10 g/100 g
	lavender (Lavandula spp.), borage (Borago officinalis)	not more than 15 g/100 g
2.	Moisture content
	in general	not more than 20%
	heather (Calluna) and baker’s honey in general	not more than 23%
	baker’s honey from heather (Calluna)	not more than 25%
3.	Water-insoluble content
	in general	not more than 0.1 g/100 g
	pressed honey	not more than 0.5 g/100 g
4.	Electrical conductivity
	honey not listed below and blends of these honeys	not more than 0.8 mS/cm
	honeydew and chestnut honey and blends of these except with those listed below	not less than 0.8 mS/cm
	exceptions: strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), bell heather (Erica), eucalyptus, lime (Tilia spp.), ling heather (Calluna vulgaris), manuka or jelly bush (Leptospermum), tea tree (Melaleuca spp.)
5.	Free acid
	in general	not more than 50 milli-equivalents acid per 1000 grammes
	baker’s honey	not more than 80 milli-equivalents acid per 1000 grammes
6.	Diastase activity and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content determined after processing and blending
	(a) Diastase activity (Schade scale)
	in general, except baker’s honey	not less than 8
	honeys with low natural enzyme content (e.g. citrus honeys) and an HMF content of not more than 15 mg/kg	not less than 3
	(b) HMF
	in general, except baker’s honey	not more than 40 mg/kg (subject to the provisions of (a), second indent)
	honeys of declared origin from regions with tropical climate and blends of these honeys	not more than 80 mg/kg