Honey Regulations

Question 1

Honey Regulation Introduction

Answer 1

The Honey (England) Regulations 2015

Question 2

Under Food Regulations, of what materials can a honey extractor be made?

Answer 2

• Stainless steel and food quality polythene.

Question 3

UK statutory regulations affecting the handling and the preparation of honey for sale.

Answer 3

The Honey (England) Regulations 2015

Question 4

As per the Regs: Definition of honey and different types of honey

Answer 4

1. Honey: the natural sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living plants or secretions of plant-sucking insects on the living plants which the bees collect, transform, deposit, dehydrate and leave in honey combs to ripen and mature.
2. Baker’s honey. Honey suitable for industrial use or as an ingredient in another foodstuff which is then processed
3. Blossom and nectar honey. Obtained form the nectar of plants.
4. Chunk and cut comb in honey. Contain on or more pieces of comb in honey.
5. Comb honey. Stored by bees in cells of freshly built broodless comb or this comb
   foundation sheets made solely of beeswax and sold in sealed whole combs or
   sections of such combs.
6. Drained honey. obtained by draining de-capped broodless combs.
7. Extracted honey. Obtained by centrifuging de-capped broodless comb.
8. Filtered honey. Obtained by removing foreign inorganic ororganic matters in such a way as to result in a significant removal of pollen.
9. Honeydew honey. Obtaines mainly form the excretion of plant sucking insects
   (Hemiptera) on the living part of plants or secretions of living parts of plants.
10. Pressed honey. Obtained by pressing broodless combs with or without the application of moderate heat not exceeding 45C.

Question 5

As per Regs what is the General composition criteria.

Answer 5

1. Honey consists essentially of different sugars, predominantly fructose and glucose, as well as other substances such as enzymes, organic acids and other particles derived from honey collection.
2. Colour. Nearly colourless to dark brown.
3. Consistency. Fluid, viscous or partly or entirely crystallised.
4. Flavour and aroma. Vary but derived from plant origin.
5. Food ingredients. None added
6. Other additions. None except for other honey.
7. Free from organic or inorganic matters foreign to its composition
   8.(except for baker’s honey)
   • Foreign taste or odours
   • Begun to ferment
   • Been artificially changed
   • Been heated in such a way that the natural enzymes have been either destroyed or significantly activated.
8. No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic or organic matter. Not applicable to filtered honey

Question 6

Describe as per the regs the detailed composition criteria.

Answer 6

1. Fructose and glucose content. Blossom honey not less than 60g/100g
2. Sucrose content. Most honeys not more than 5g/100g
3. Moisture content. All honey less heather not more than 20%
   4.Heather Honey not more than 23%
4. Water-insoluble content. All honey less pressed honey not more than 0.1g/100g
5. Electrical conductivity not more than 0.8mS/cm
6. Free acid. All honey except baker’s not more than 50 milli-equivalents acid/kg
   • Baker’s not more than 80 milli-equivalents acid/kg
7. Diastase and hydroxymethylfurfural content after processing and blending:
   • Diastase activity (Schade scale) All honey less baker’s and citrus not less than 8
   • HMF. All honey except baker’s not more than 40mg/kg

Question 7

What is the current UK legislation that affects the suitability and condition of the
premises used for bottling honey for sale to retail outlets.

Answer 7

EC Regulation 852/2004 recently adopted by UK Government under EU Exit legislation

Question 8

What are the requirements for a beekeeper to extract small quantities of honey in a
domestic kitchen?

Answer 8

1. Floor surfaces must be sound and easy to clean and disinfect
2. Wall surfaces must be sound and easy to clean and disinfect
3. Doors must be easy to clean and disinfect
4. Any surfaces (including those of equipment) must be sound and easy to clean and disinfect.
5. Ceilings and windows must be designed, constructed and finished to prevent the accumulation of dirt.
6. Windows opening to the outside must befitted with insect-proof screen which can be easily removed to be cleaned.
7. Windows must be kept closed during operation.
8. Adequate facilities to wash tools and equipment to have both hot and cold water.
9. Separate hand and food-washing sinks. Washbasins available, suitably located and
   designated for cleaning hands
10. Ventilated lobby between toilet and extraction room. Lavatories must not lead directly into rooms in which food is handled.
    In Summary:
    The premises must have adequate layout, ventilation, be clean and in good repair, with appropriate lavatories and hand washing facilities. Hand washing facilities
    must have both hot and cold water and, where relevant, be separate from the food
    washing facilities.

Question 9

What are the additional legal requirements for the equipment for extracting, processing and for preparing honey for sale to retail outlets.

Answer 9

1. Food handlers must be trained or supervised so as to comply with legislation and good practice.
2. comply with legistaion on food safety, cleanliness, space, sanitation and inspect prior to starting the session.
3. ensure equipment is stainless steel or food grade plastic. All is clean and good condition. Check before starting.
4. Free from chemicals, rinse before starting.
5. Handle jars carefully to prevent chips or cracking and inspect before they are used.
6. contamination risk is kept to a minimum by keeping jards and lids in a vermin free area and when being used they are properly cleaned in a dishwasher if possible.
7. check food safe labeling, and ensure food safe plastic. consider botulism label for infants.
8. use of hydrometer, ensure all equipment is dry and honey extracted from ripe comb. work in as dry an environment as possible ensuring all lids firmly sealed with tamper proof tabs
9. avoid heating unnecessirily to avoid HMF. store in a cool place with good stock rotation and accurate best before dates.

Question 10

Electrical Conductivity and Free Acids

Answer 10

The conductivity is a good criterion of the botanical origin of honey and thus is very often
used in routine honey quality control and purity. Honey contains organic acids and mineral
salts, compounds which chemically are called “ionizable” that is when in solution, they
have the property to conduct electric current. The electrical conductivity of honey is
defined as that of a 20% (w/v) weight in solution at 200C±0.5, where the 20% refers to
anhydrous honey and express in mill Siemens per centimetre (mS.cm-1)[2,3].
The acidity in honey is caused by the organic acid usually existing in all honeys (tartaric,
citric, oxalic, acetic, etc.) either from nectar or bees’ secretions. The acidity of honey can be measured by titration against sodium hydroxide equivalents or direct measurement of pH. The commercial high-quality honey should have the free acidity up to 50mili
equivalents/Kg of honey. Natural acidity of honeys may increase when they grow older, when it is extracted from combs with propolis, and especially when it deteriorates due to fermentation. Moreover, the honey adulterated with sugar syrup has a very low acidity
(less than 1) while that adulterated with inverted sugar has a clearly higher acidity.