The Honey (England) Regulations 2015

Regulation 16

SCHEDULE 1 Compositional criteria

1.  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.

2.  The colour varies from nearly colourless to dark brown.

3.  The consistency can be fluid, viscous or partly or entirely crystallised.

4.  The flavour and aroma vary but are derived from the plant origin.

5.  No food ingredient has been added, including any food additive.

6.  No other additions have been made to the honey except for other honey.

7.  It must, as far as possible, be free from organic or inorganic matters foreign to its composition.

8.  It must not—

(a) have any foreign tastes or odours;

(b) have begun to ferment;

(c) have an artificially changed acidity;

(d) have been heated in such a way that the natural enzymes have been either destroyed or significantly inactivated.

9.  Paragraph 8 does not apply to baker’s honey.

10.  No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic or organic matter.

11.  Paragraph 10 does not apply to filtered honey.

12.  The additional compositional criteria set out in the following table apply—

Criteria	Amount
Sugar content
1.—(1) Fructose and glucose content (sum of both)—
(a) blossom honey	not less than 60g/100g
(b) honeydew honey and a blend of honeydew honey with blossom honey	not less than 45g/100g
(2) Sucrose content—
(a) all honey except for honey specified in paragraph (b) or (c)	not more than 5g/100g
(b) 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
(c) lavender (Lavandula spp.) honey, borage (Borago officinalis) honey	not more than 15g/100g
Moisture content
2.  Moisture content—
(a) all honey except for honey specified in paragraph (b), (c) or (d)	not more than 20%
(b) honey from heather (Calluna)	not more than 23%
(c) baker’s honey except for baker’s honey from heather (Calluna)	not more than 23%
(d) baker’s honey from heather (Calluna)	not more than 25%
Water-insoluble content
3.  Water-insoluble content—
(a) all honey except pressed honey	not more than 0.1g/100g
(b) pressed honey	not more than 0.5g/100g
Electrical conductivity
4.  Electrical conductivity—
(a) 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
(b) blends of honeys to which paragraph (a) applies	not more than 0.8mS/cm
(c) honeydew honey	not less than 0.8mS/cm
(d) 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
(e) chestnut honey	not less than 0.8mS/cm
(f) 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
5.  Free acid—
(a) all honey except for baker’s honey	not more than 50 milli-equivalents acid/kg
(b) baker’s honey	not more than 80 milli-equivalents acid/kg
Diastase activity and hydroxymethylfurfural content
6.  Diastase activity and hydroxymethylfurfural content (HMF) determined after processing and blending—
(a) diastase activity (Schade scale) —
(i) all honey except baker’s honey and honey specified in sub-paragraph (ii)	not less than 8
(ii) 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
(b) HMF—
(i) all honey except baker’s honey and honey specified in sub-paragraph (ii)	not more than 40mg/kg
(ii) honey of a declared origin from a region with a tropical climate and blends of these honeys	not more than 80mg/kg