The Honey Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations implement Council Directive 2001/110/EC relating to honey (OJ No L 10, 12.1.2002, p 47). They revoke and replace the Honey Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (S.R. 2003 No. 383).

The Regulations regulate the use of the names “honey” (regulation 6), “blossom honey” and “nectar honey” (regulation 7), “honeydew honey” (regulation 8), “comb honey” (regulation 9), “chunk honey” and “cut comb in honey” (regulation 10), “drained honey” (regulation 11), “extracted honey” (regulation 12), “pressed honey” (regulation 13), “filtered honey” (regulation 14) and “baker's honey” (regulation 15).

Regulation 16 and Schedule 1 prescribe compositional criteria with which such products must comply when placed on the market as honey and when used as honey in a product intended for human consumption.

Regulation 17 prescribes additional labelling requirements for the honey products regulated by these Regulations.

Regulation 18 imposes an obligation on district councils to enforce the Regulations.

Regulation 19 and Schedule 2 apply certain provisions of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (1991 N.I.7), with modifications. This includes the application (with modifications) of Article 9(1), enabling an improvement notice to be served requiring compliance with specified provisions of the Regulations.

The provisions, as applied, make the failure to comply with an improvement notice an offence.

As well as revoking the Honey Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, regulation 20 revokes the Honey (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (S.R. 2005 No.385), the Honey (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008 No. 126) and specified provisions of the Food Information Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 (S.R. 2014 No. 223) relating to the Honey Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.

Regulation 21 and Schedule 3 amend the Food Information Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014.

Regulation 22 makes a transitional provision in respect of food placed on the market or labelled before 24th June 2015, prohibiting an improvement notice from being served in relation to such food if it would have been compliant with the Honey Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.