Campaign - Honey labelling petition

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about honey.

I know that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is very active in ensuring honey meets our high standards. Food Adulteration is a key issue and Defra has an active food authenticity programme to ensure that food sold in the UK meets the standards expected and is accurately labelled.

Ministers recognise the importance of accurate labelling and quality standards for foods, including honey. All honey on sale, regardless of where it has come from, must comply with the Honey (England) Regulations 2015 which set out detailed specifications in terms of its composition, labelling, and quality criteria. Addition of sugars, or anything else to honey, is not permitted by these regulations.

I am aware that honey is a complex natural product, meaning analysis can often be challenging. No single test can definitively determine a honey’s authenticity, and there are a range of different analytical methods available, from the well-established traditional validated methods to more recently developed advanced ‘fingerprinting’ tools such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR).

I understand that allegations that some honey sold in the UK may be adulterated with added sugars, including the recent Honey Authenticity Project (HAP) survey, are based on results using NMR. These have been investigated by the relevant local authorities, using a weight of evidence approach, and they concluded there was insufficient evidence to indicate fraud or non-compliance. The Food Standards Agency has commissioned the Government Chemist to carry out an independent review of the most recent HAP survey of UK honeys.

Finally, I know that Defra’s programme of work on honey focuses on dissemination and knowledge transfer such as a webinar organised by the GC with Defra’s support. As part of the UK’s honey programme, Ministers are also supporting work on testing methods which will look more in depth at issues such as ensuring method fitness for purpose and on standardising approaches.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.