Section 6(4) was amended by paragraph 6 of Schedule 9 to the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 (c. 40), paragraph 10(1) and (3) of Schedule 5, and Schedule 6, to the Food Standards Act 1999 (c. 28) and S.I. 2002/794.
Section 16(1) was amended by paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the Food Standards Act 1999.
Section 17(1) was amended by paragraphs 8 and 12(a) of Schedule 5 to the Food Standards Act 1999 and S.I. 2011/1043.
Section 26(3) was amended by Schedule 6 to the Food Standards Act 1999.
Section 48(1) was amended by paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the Food Standards Act 1999.
Functions formerly exercisable by “the Ministers” (being, in relation to England and Wales and acting jointly, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretaries of State respectively concerned with health in England and food and health in Wales and, in relation to Scotland, the Secretary of State) are now exercisable in relation to England by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the Food Standards Act 1999.
Section 48(4A) was inserted by paragraph 21 of Schedule 5 to the Food Standards Act 1999.
OJ No L 31, 1.2.2002, p 1, last amended by Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No L 189, 27.6.2014, p 1).
OJ No L 304, 22.11.2011, p 18, last amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 78/2014 (OJ No L 27, 30.1.2014, p 7).
OJ No L 10, 12.1.2002, p 47, last amended by Directive 2014/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No 164, 3.6.2014, p 1).
OJ No L 31, 1.2.2002, p 1, last amended by Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No L 189, 27.6.2014, p 1).
S.I. 2003/2243, amended by S.I. 2005/1920, 2626, 2014/1855.
Section 35(1) is amended by paragraph 42 of Schedule 26 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) from a date to be appointed. There are other amendments to section 35(1) not relevant to these Regulations.
Section 35(2) was amended by S.I. 2015/664. There are other amendments to section 35(2) not relevant to these Regulations.
Section 36A was inserted by paragraph 16 of Schedule 5 to the Food Standards Act 1999 (c. 28).
OJ No L 10, 12.1.2002, p 47, last amended by Directive 2014/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No 164, 3.6.2014, p 1).
Reg. 18A inserted (31.12.2020) by The Food (Amendment) (England) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/150), regs. 1, 7; 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Reg. 22A inserted (27.5.2021) by The Food and Drink (Miscellaneous Amendments Relating to Food and Wine Composition, Information and Labelling) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/632), regs. 1, 4(3)
Words in reg. 17(1) omitted (27.5.2021) by virtue of The Food and Drink (Miscellaneous Amendments Relating to Food and Wine Composition, Information and Labelling) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/632), regs. 1, 4(2)(a)
Words in reg. 17(1) substituted (27.5.2021) by The Food and Drink (Miscellaneous Amendments Relating to Food and Wine Composition, Information and Labelling) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/632), regs. 1, 4(2)(b)
Words in reg. 22A(2)(a) substituted (30.9.2022) by The Food Information (Amendment of Transitional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/938), regs. 1(1), 9
Regulations applied in part (with modifications) (N.I.) (1.10.2023) by The Windsor Framework (Retail Movement Scheme: Public Health, Marketing and Organic Product Standards and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/959), regs. 1(2), 4(b), Sch. 2 (with regs. 7, 8)
Made
Laid before Parliament
Coming into force
There has been consultation, as required by Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety
These Regulations may be cited as the Honey (England) Regulations 2015 and come into force on 24th June 2015.
These Regulations apply in England only.
In these Regulations “
In these Regulations—
“
“blossom honey” and “nectar honey” mean honeys obtained from the nectar of plants;
“chunk honey” and “cut comb in honey” mean honeys which contain one or more pieces of comb honey;
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In these Regulations—
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the council of a district in a non-metropolitan county in England except where the county functions have been transferred to that council pursuant to a structural change; or
the appropriate Treasurer referred to in section 5(1)(c) of the Act (which deals with the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple);
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Any other expression used in both these Regulations and in the Honey Directive has the same meaning in these Regulations as in that Directive.
The following provisions only apply in relation to a product intended for supply to a final consumer or mass caterer—
Part 2, except for regulations 14(4) and 15(4) and (5);
regulation 16(1) and (2);
Part 4.
Regulation 16(3) and (4) only apply where the products intended for human consumption specified in those paragraphs (the products to which honey is added as an ingredient) are intended for supply to a final consumer or mass caterer.
In this regulation—
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Where two or more provisions of these Regulations apply in determining the name to be used in respect of a particular honey, a person trading in that honey must use a name or combination name which complies with the requirements of each of those provisions.
A person trading in a honey, except a honey to which paragraph (2) applies, must use the name “honey” in trade as the name of the product.
This paragraph applies to—
baker's honey;
comb honey;
drained honey;
extracted honey;
filtered honey;
honeydew honey;
honey that contains one or more pieces of comb honey (chunk honey and cut comb in honey);
honey that is obtained from the nectar of plants (blossom honey and nectar honey); and
pressed honey.
A person must not use the name “honey” in trade as the name of a product if the product is not honey.
A person trading in honey obtained from the nectar of plants must use the name “honey”, “blossom honey” or “nectar honey” in trade as the name of the product.
A person must not use the name “blossom honey” or “nectar honey” in trade as the name of a product if the product is not honey obtained from the nectar of plants.
A person trading in a honeydew honey must use the name “honey” or “honeydew honey” in trade as the name of the product.
A person must not use the name “honeydew honey” in trade as the name of a product if the product is not honeydew honey.
A person trading in a comb honey must use the name “comb honey” in trade as the name of the product.
A person must not use the name “comb honey” in trade as the name of a product if the product is not comb honey.
A person trading in a honey that contains one or more pieces of comb honey must use the name “chunk honey” or “cut comb in honey” in trade as the name of the product.
A person must not use the name “chunk honey” or “cut comb in honey” in trade as the name of a product if the product does not contain one or more pieces of comb honey.
A person trading in drained honey must use the name “honey” or “drained honey” in trade as the name of the product.
A person must not use the name “drained honey” in trade as the name of a product if the product is not drained honey.
A person trading in extracted honey must use the name “honey” or “extracted honey” in trade as the name of the product.
A person must not use the name “extracted honey” in trade as the name of a product if the product is not extracted honey.
A person trading in pressed honey must use the name “honey” or “pressed honey” in trade as the name of the product.
A person must not use the name “pressed honey” in trade as the name of a product if the product is not pressed honey.
A person trading in filtered honey must use the name “filtered honey” in trade as the name of the product.
A person must not use the name “filtered honey” in trade as the name of a product if the product is not filtered honey.
A person trading in filtered honey must not provide information relating to the floral, vegetable, regional, territorial or topographical origin of the product or specific quality criteria for the product.
A person must not trade in filtered honey in bulk containers or packs unless the product name “filtered honey” is clearly indicated—
on those containers and packs; and
on the trade documents relating to the product.
A person trading in baker's honey must use the name “baker's honey”, in trade, as the name of the product.
A person must not use the name “baker's honey” in trade as the name of a product if the product is not baker's honey.
A person trading in baker's honey must not provide information relating to the floral, vegetable, regional, territorial or topographical origin of the product or specific quality criteria for the product.
A person must not trade in baker's honey unless the words “intended for cooking only” appear on the label of the product in close proximity to the product name.
A person must not trade in baker's honey in bulk containers or packs unless the product name “baker's honey” is clearly indicated—
on those containers and packs; and
on the trade documents relating to the product.
Where baker's honey is used as an ingredient in a compound foodstuff, the product name “honey” may be used, in trade, in the product name of the compound foodstuff instead of “baker's honey”.
Where baker's honey is used as an ingredient in a compound foodstuff and the name “honey” is used in the product name of the compound foodstuff, a person must not trade in that foodstuff unless the list of ingredients for that foodstuff identifies that honey ingredient using the name “baker's honey”.
A person must not place any product on the market as “honey” unless it meets the appropriate compositional criteria for “honey” specified in Schedule 1.
A person must not place any product on the market using a product name listed in paragraph (5) unless it meets the appropriate compositional criteria for that type of honey specified in Schedule 1.
A person must not use a product (“the honey ingredient”) as “honey” in a product intended to be placed on the market for human consumption unless the honey ingredient meets the appropriate compositional criteria for “honey” specified in Schedule 1.
A person must not use a product (“the honey ingredient”) as honey of a type listed in paragraph (5) in a product intended to be placed on the market for human consumption unless the honey ingredient meets the appropriate compositional criteria for that type of honey specified in Schedule 1.
The product names and types of honey are—
baker's honey;
blossom honey;
chunk honey;
comb honey;
cut comb in honey;
drained honey;
extracted honey;
filtered honey;
honeydew honey;
nectar honey;
pressed honey.
No person may trade in honey unless the country of origin where the honey has been harvested is indicated on the label except that, if the honey originates in more than one
In paragraphs (3) to (5), “
The product name of a relevant honey may be supplemented by information relating to its floral or vegetable origin but no person may trade in a relevant honey for which such supplemental information is provided unless the product comes wholly or mainly from the indicated source and possesses the organoleptic, physico-chemical and microscopic characteristics of the source.
The product name of a relevant honey may be supplemented by information relating to its regional, territorial or topographical origin but no person may trade in a relevant honey for which such supplemental information is provided unless the product comes entirely from the indicated origin.
The product name of a relevant honey may be supplemented by information relating to its specific quality criteria.
Each food authority must enforce and execute these Regulations in its area.
In carrying out its obligations under regulation 18, a food authority must, whenever possible, use a method of analysis approved by the Codex Alimentarius, or another internationally recognised validated method of analysis, to verify compliance with the provisions of these Regulations.
The provisions of the Act specified in column 1 of the table in Schedule 2 apply, with the modifications specified in column 2 of that table, for the purposes of these Regulations.
The following are revoked—
the Honey (England) Regulations 2003
the Honey (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2005
In the Food Information Regulations 2014
entry 14 of the table in Part 1 of Schedule 6; and
paragraphs 35 to 37 of Schedule 7.
Schedule 3 (amendment of the Food Information Regulations 2014) has effect.
An authorised officer of a food authority must not serve an improvement notice under section 10(1) of the Act, as applied and modified by regulation 19, as read with Schedule 2, if—
the improvement notice would relate to a product that was placed on the market or labelled before 24th June 2015; and
the matters constituting the alleged contravention would not have constituted an offence under the Honey (England) Regulations 2003 as they stood immediately before 24th June 2015.
An authorised officer of a food authority must not serve on a person an improvement notice relating to a contravention of regulation 17(1) if—
the improvement notice would relate to a product that was placed on the market before IP completion day; and
the matter would not have constituted a contravention of regulation 17(1) as that provision had effect immediately before IP completion day.
An authorised officer of a food authority must not serve on a person an improvement notice relating to a contravention of regulation 17(1) if—
the improvement notice would relate to a product that was placed on the market
the product bears one of the indications provided for in regulation 17(1) as that provision had effect immediately before IP completion day;
had the product been placed on the market immediately before IP completion day, the use of the indication would not have constituted a contravention of regulation 17(1) as that provision had effect immediately before IP completion day; and
the indication is accurate in identifying the “EU”, “non-EU” or “EU and non-EU” origins, as the case may be, of the honeys in the product.
In this regulation, “improvement notice” means an improvement notice pursuant to regulation 19.
The Secretary of State must from time to time—
carry out a review of these Regulations;
set out the conclusions of the review in a report; and
publish the report.
In carrying out the review the Secretary of State must, so far as is reasonable, have regard to how the Honey Directive (which is implemented by means of these Regulations) is implemented in other member States.
The report must in particular—
set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory system established by these Regulations;
assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved; and
assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.
The first report under this regulation must be published before the end of the period of five years beginning with the day on which these Regulations come into force.
Reports under these Regulations are afterwards to be published at intervals not exceeding five years.
Regulation 16
The honey consists essentially of different sugars, predominantly fructose and glucose, as well as other substances such as organic acids, enzymes and solid particles derived from honey collection.
The colour varies from nearly colourless to dark brown.
The consistency can be fluid, viscous or partly or entirely crystallised.
The flavour and aroma vary but are derived from the plant origin.
No food ingredient has been added, including any food additive.
No other additions have been made to the honey except for other honey.
It must, as far as possible, be free from organic or inorganic matters foreign to its composition.
It must not—
have any foreign tastes or odours;
have begun to ferment;
have an artificially changed acidity;
have been heated in such a way that the natural enzymes have been either destroyed or significantly inactivated.
Paragraph 8 does not apply to baker's honey.
No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic or organic matter.
Paragraph 10 does not apply to filtered honey.
The additional compositional criteria set out in the following table apply—
Criteria | Amount |
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Sugar content | |
Fructose and glucose content (sum of both)— | |
blossom honey | not less than 60g/100g |
honeydew honey and a blend of honeydew honey with blossom honey | not less than 45g/100g |
Sucrose content— | |
all honey except for honey specified in paragraph (b) or (c) | not more than 5g/100g |
false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) honey, alfalfa (Medicago sativa) honey, Menzies Banksia (Banksia menziesii) honey, French honeysuckle (Hedysarum) honey, red gum (Eucalyptus camadulensis) honey, leatherwood (Eucryphia lucida, Eucryphia milliganii) honey, Citrus spp. honey | not more than 10g/100g |
lavender (Lavandula spp.) honey, borage (Borago officinalis) honey | not more than 15g/100g |
Moisture content | |
Moisture content— | |
all honey except for honey specified in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) | not more than 20% |
honey from heather (Calluna) | not more than 23% |
baker's honey except for baker's honey from heather (Calluna) | not more than 23% |
baker's honey from heather (Calluna) | not more than 25% |
Water-insoluble content | |
Water-insoluble content— | |
all honey except pressed honey | not more than 0.1g/100g |
pressed honey | not more than 0.5g/100g |
Electrical conductivity | |
Electrical conductivity— | |
all honey except for bell heather (Erica) honey, chestnut honey, eucalyptus honey, honeydew honey, lime (Tilia spp.) honey, ling heather (Calluna vulgaris) honey, manuka or jelly bush (Leptospermum) honey, strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) honey and tea tree (Melaleuca spp.) honey | not more than 0.8mS/cm |
blends of honeys to which paragraph (a) applies | not more than 0.8mS/cm |
honeydew honey | not less than 0.8mS/cm |
blends of honeydew honey except blends of that honey with bell heather (Erica) honey, eucalyptus honey, lime (Tilia spp.) honey, ling heather (Calluna vulgaris) honey, manuka or jelly bush (Leptospermum) honey, strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) honey and tea tree (Melaleuca spp.) honey | not less than 0.8mS/cm |
chestnut honey | not less than 0.8mS/cm |
blends of chestnut honey except blends of that honey with bell heather (Erica) honey, eucalyptus honey, lime (Tilia spp.) honey, ling heather (Calluna vulgaris) honey, manuka or jelly bush (Leptospermum) honey, strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) honey and tea tree (Melaleuca spp.) honey | not less than 0.8mS/cm |
Free acid | |
Free acid— | |
all honey except for baker's honey | not more than 50 milli-equivalents acid/kg |
baker's honey | not more than 80 milli-equivalents acid/kg |
Diastase activity and hydroxymethylfurfural content | |
Diastase activity and hydroxymethylfurfural content (HMF) determined after processing and blending— | |
diastase activity (Schade scale) — | |
all honey except baker's honey and honey specified in sub-paragraph (ii) | not less than 8 |
honey with a low natural enzyme content (e.g. citrus honey) and an HMF content of not more than 15mg/kg | not less than 3 |
HMF— | |
all honey except baker's honey and honey specified in sub-paragraph (ii) | not more than 40mg/kg |
honey of a declared origin from a region with a tropical climate and blends of these honeys | not more than 80mg/kg |
Regulation 19
Column 1Provision of the Act | Column 2Modifications |
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Section 3 (presumptions that food intended for human consumption) | In subsection (1), for “this Act” substitute |
Section 10(1) and (2) (improvement notices) | For subsection (1) (improvement notices) substitute— If an authorised officer of a food authority has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is failing to comply with any of regulations 6 to 17 of the Honey (England) Regulations 2015, the authorised officer may, by a notice served on that person (in this Act referred to as an “ state the officer's grounds for believing that the person is failing to comply with the relevant provision; specify the matters which constitute the person's failure so to comply; specify the measures which, in the officer's opinion, the person must take in order to secure compliance; and require the person to take those measures, or measures that are at least equivalent to them, within such period (not being less than 14 days) as may be specified in the notice. |
Section 20 (offences due to fault of another person) | For “any of the preceding provisions of this Part” substitute |
Section 21(1) and (5) (defence of due diligence) | In subsection (1), for “any of the preceding provisions of this Part” substitute |
Section 30(8) (evidence of certificates given by a food analyst or examiner) | For “this Act” substitute |
Section 33 (obstruction etc. of officers) | In subsection (1), for “this Act” (in each place occurring) substitute |
Section 35(1) | In subsection (1), after “section 33(1) above”, insert After subsection (1), insert— A person guilty of an offence under section 10(2), as applied by regulation 19 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Honey (England) Regulations 2015, shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine. In subsection (2) for “any other offence under this Act” substitute |
Section 36 (offences by body corporate) | In subsection (1), for “this Act” substitute |
Section 36A | For “this Act” substitute |
Section 37(1) and (6) (appeals) | For subsection (1) substitute— Any person who is aggrieved by a decision of an authorised officer of a food authority to serve an improvement notice under section 10(1), as applied and modified by regulation 19 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Honey (England) Regulations 2015, may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. In subsection (6)— for “(3) or (4)” substitute in paragraph (a), for “a magistrates' court or to the sheriff” substitute |
Section 39 (appeals against improvement notices) | For subsection (1) substitute— On an appeal against an improvement notice served under section 10(1), as applied and modified by regulation 19 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Honey (England) Regulations 2015, the First-tier Tribunal may either cancel or affirm the notice and, if it affirms it, may do so either in its original form or with such modifications as the First-tier Tribunal may in the circumstances think fit. In subsection (3), omit “for want of prosecution” |
Section 44 (protection of officers acting in good faith) | For “this Act” (in each place occurring) substitute |
Regulation 21
The Food Information Regulations 2014
In the table in Part 2 of Schedule 5 (FIC provisions in relation to which an improvement notice may be served on and from 13th December 2014)—
in the third column, at the end of entry number 26, insert
in the third column, in entry number 27, for “and the first subparagraph of Article 54(1)” substitute
(This note is not part of the Regulations) These Regulations, which apply in England, implement Council Directive 2001/110/EC relating to honey (OJ No L 10, 12.1.2002, p 47). They revoke and replace the Honey (England) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2243). 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 contains additional labelling provisions. Regulation 18 imposes an obligation on food authorities to enforce the Regulations. Regulation 19 and Schedule 2 apply certain provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 (1990 c. 16), with modifications. This includes the application (with modifications) of section 10(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 (England) Regulations 2003, regulation 20 revokes the Honey (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2005 (S.I 2005/1920) and omits specified provisions of the Food Information Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/1855) relating to the Honey (England) Regulations 2003. Regulation 21 and Schedule 3 amend the Food Information Regulations 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 (England) Regulations 2003. Regulation 23 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of these Regulations and publish a report within five years after they come into force and within every five years after that. Following a review it will fall to the Secretary of State to consider whether the Regulations should remain as they are, or be revoked or be amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke the Regulations or to amend them. A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen. The Explanatory Memorandum for the Regulations, to which a Transposition Note is attached, is published alongside the Regulations on www.legislation.gov.uk.