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Honey

Here you can find the legislation.

Amendment to the Breakfast Directives 

Directive (EU) 2024/1438 amends four of the seven Directives, known collectively as the ‘Breakfast Directives’ relating to honey, fruit juices, jams, jellies and marmalades and preserved dehydrated milk products.  The updated directives aim to promote a shift to healthier diets, help consumers make informed choices, and ensure transparency regarding the origin of products.

Summary of amendments within EU Directive 2024/1438 relating to Honey 

S.I. No. 591/2025 transposes Directive (EU) 2024/1438 into Irish law.

The amendments to the rules will apply from 14 June 2026. Until that date, food businesses may continue to label blended honey in accordance with the existing rules, which require food businesses to list blends of honey as either ‘blend of EC honeys,’ ‘blend of non-EC honeys,’ ‘blend of EC and non-EC honeys.’ Directive 2024/1438 amends the labelling provisions for honey blends, it requires that all countries of origin must be indicated on the label in the principal field of vision and listed in descending order of weight, including their representing percentage of weight in the total product. A tolerance of 5% for each share is permitted.

Article 2 (4) of Directive 2001/110/EC is amended as follows:

“the country of origin where the honey has been harvested shall be indicated on the label. If the honey originates in more than one country, the countries of origin where the honey has been harvested shall be indicated on the label in the principal field of vision, in descending order of their share in weight, together with the percentage that each of those countries of origin represents. A tolerance of 5 % shall be allowed for each individual share within the blend, calculated on the basis of the operator’s traceability documentation.”

(b) the particulars to be indicated pursuant to subpoint (a) of this point shall be considered to be mandatory particulars in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011;’;

Directive 2024/1438 permits the names of the countries of origin to be replaced with ISO alpha-2 country codes for <30g honey portions and omits ‘filtered honey’ from the list of permitted definitions. In addition, following feasibility studies, the European Commission have committed to publish delegated acts determining methods of analysis and criteria for a traceability system by June 2029.

EU legislation

Council Directive 2001/110/EC (OJ L 10, p47, 12.01.2002) of 20 December 2001 relating to honey

Corrected by

Amended by

  • Directive (EU) 2024/1438 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 amending Council Directives 2001/110/EC relating to honey, 2001/112/EC relating to fruit juices and certain similar products intended for human consumption, 2001/113/EC relating to fruit jams, jellies and marmalades and sweetened chestnut purée intended for human consumption, and 2001/114/EC relating to certain partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk for human consumption.
  • Directive 2014/63/EU (OJ L 164, p1, 03.06.2014) of 15 May 2014
  • Consolidated version of Directive 2001/110/EC as at 23 June 2014

National legislation

 

1. Names, Product Descriptions and Definitions

Article 1 of Council Directive 2001/110/EC requires products defined in Annex I to meet specific compositional requirements. Honey is defined as per Annex I, point 1 of the Directive as the natural sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants, which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in honeycombs to ripen and mature.

The legal name ‘honey’ shall be applied only to the product defined in the Directive and must be used in trade to designate that product. The main types of honey according to origin or mode of production/presentation must use the following product names:

  • (a) Blossom honey or nectar honey: honey obtained from the nectar of plants.
  • (b) Honeydew honey: honey obtained mainly from excretions of plant-sucking insects (Hemiptera) or secretions of living parts of plants.
  • (c) Comb honey: honey stored by bees in the cells of freshly built broodless combs and sold in sealed whole combs.
  • (d) Chunk honey or cut comb in honey: honey which contains one or more pieces of comb honey
  • (e) Drained honey: obtain by draining decapped broodless combs.
  • (f) Extracted honey: honey obtained by centrifuging decapped broodles combs.
  • (g) Pressed honey: honey obtained by pressing broodless combs with or without the application of moderate heat not exceeding 45C.
  • (h) Baker’s honey: honey suitable for industrial uses or as an ingredient in other processed foodstuffs, which may have a foreign taste/odour, have been overheated or have begun to ferment.

2. Designations of Origin

The amendments to the rules will apply from 14 June 2026. Until that date, food businesses may continue to label blended honey in accordance with the existing rules, which require food businesses to list blends of honey as either ‘blend of EC honeys,’ ‘blend of non-EC honeys,’ ‘blend of EC and non-EC honeys.’ Directive 2024/1438 amends the labelling provisions for honey blends, it requires that all countries of origin must be indicated on the label in the principal field of vision and listed in descending order of weight, including their representing percentage of weight in the total product. A tolerance of 5% for each share is permitted.

Article 2 (4) of Directive 2001/110/EC is amended as follows:

“the country of origin where the honey has been harvested shall be indicated on the label. If the honey originates in more than one country, the countries of origin where the honey has been harvested shall be indicated on the label in the principal field of vision, in descending order of their share in weight, together with the percentage that each of those countries of origin represents. A tolerance of 5 % shall be allowed for each individual share within the blend, calculated on the basis of the operator’s traceability documentation.”

(b) the particulars to be indicated pursuant to subpoint (a) of this point shall be considered to be mandatory particulars in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011;’;

 

3. Mandatory Labelling Particulars

Under Article 2 of the Directive, specific rules apply to ensure transparency:

  • The term “Honey”: the term “honey” shall be applied only to the product defined in the Annex I, point 1 of the Directive and shall be used in trade to designate that product.
  • Baker’s Honey: The words ‘intended for cooking only’ must appear on the label in close proximity to the product name. If baker’s honey is used in a compound foodstuff, the term ‘baker's honey’ must be used in the list of ingredients.
  • Ingredients list: While pollen is a natural constituent of honey, shall not be considered an ingredient.
  • Added ingredients: Under Annex II of Council Directive 2001/110/EC, honey is defined as a natural substance to which no food ingredients or additives may be added. When placed on the market as honey or used in any product intended for human consumption, honey shall not have added to it any food ingredient, including food additives, nor shall any other additions be made other than honey. Honey must, as far as possible, be free from organic or inorganic matters foreign to its composition.

 

4. Supplementary and Voluntary Information

Article 2(2)(b) allows the product names (except for filtered or baker's honey) to be supplemented with information referring to specific origins or criteria, provided the product meets the necessary characteristics:

(a) Floral or vegetable origin: if the product comes wholly or mainly from the indicated source and possesses the required organoleptic, physico-chemical and microscopic characteristics.

(b) Regional, territorial or topographical origin: if the product comes entirely from the indicated source.

(c) Specific quality criteria;

 

5. Health claims

Can I make health claims on my honey label?

General foods are permitted to carry nutrition and health claims if they comply with the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. Nutrition and health claims in the EU are governed by Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. S.I. No. 11/2014 transposes Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 into Irish law.

There are currently no authorised health claims for honey.

A full list of authorised health claims is provided in the European Commission EU Register of Health Claims. The register can be accessed via the following link EU register | Food and Feed Information Portal Database | FIP

The register also lists a number of non-authorised claims for honey that have been submitted to EFSA. These are claims that have been reviewed but not authorised by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Non-authorised claims cannot be used on food labels, packaging, websites, menus, or advertising.

As per Article 7 (3) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 food information shall not attribute to any food the property of preventing, treating or curing a human disease, nor refer to such properties. Food cannot be presented like a medicine or claim to heal or treat medical conditions.

 

6. Composition Criteria

Annex II of the Directive sets out strict composition criteria that honey must meet when placed on the market, such as:

  • (a) Sugar content
  • (b) Moisture content
  • (c)  Water-insoluble content
  • (d) Electrical conductivity
  • (e) Free acid
  • (f) Diastase activity and Hydroxymethylfurfural content (HMF) determined after processing and blending.

Regulation 3(2) of the European Communities (Marketing of Honey) Regulations 2003 (as amended by S.I. No. 591/2025) states that: 'A person shall not place on the market a product to which these Regulations apply unless that product meets the requirements set out in Annex II to the Council Directive.'

 

7. Transitional Measures

In accordance with S.I. No. 591 of 2025, products which are placed on the market or labelled before 14 June 2026 may continue to be marketed until the exhaustion of stocks.