Honey labelling petition

[AE-NMidlands]

A small first step towards getting control of the adulterated rubbish on sale all over the place:
https://www.bbka.org.uk/news/honey-labelling-petition
Follows on from
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... r-of-honey

Bee aware: do you know what is in that cheap jar of honey?
British beekeepers call for stricter labelling on supermarket blends to identify the countries of origin
British beekeepers are calling for a requirement on supermarkets and other retailers to label cheap honey imports from China and other nations with the country of origin after claims that part of the global supply is bulked out with sugar syrup.

The UK is the world’s biggest importer of Chinese honey, which can be one sixth of the price of the honey produced by bees in Britain. Supermarket own-label honey from China can be bought for as little as 69p a jar. Supermarkets say every jar of honey is “100% pure” and can be traced back to the beekeeper, but there is no requirement to identify the countries of origin of honey blended from more than one country. The European Union is now considering new rules to improve consumer information for honey and ensure the country of origin is clearly identified on the jar.

Lynne Ingram, chair of the Honey Authenticity Network UK, a group of beekeepers campaigning for better information for shoppers, said the government should implement its own tough new rules to ensure better transparency.

“The consumer needs to be able to make an informed choice about what they are buying, and it’s impossible for them at the moment,” said Ingram, who is also the master beekeeper at Wesley Cottage Bees, near Bridgewater in Somerset. “The current labelling rules are hiding what people are eating.”

Sales of honey rose to a record high last year and it has overtaken jam in recent years to become the UK’s most popular spread. Consumers bought 30,000 tonnes of honey in 2020 worth £130m, according to figures from the data and research company Kantar.
About a third of the UK’s honey imports come from China, but it almost never appears on the label of supermarket jars as the country of origin. The UK also imports significant amounts of cheap honey from India, Ukraine and Vietnam.

Sainsbury’s So Organic Clear Honey (340g) costs £3.15, but the supermarket did not respond to questions on the country of origin last week. It said its honey “can be traced back to the beekeeper”. The label says the product is a “blend of non-EU honeys”.

so a) if you buy blended honey it's probably Chinese, and b) the Chinese stuff probably isn't honey anyway.
So please sign
https://www.bbka.org.uk/news/honey-labelling-petition
and advertise / share widely!
Thanks
A

[Mr Gus]

Very happy this is being addressed, 20 years too bloody late though!
Read & signed for our household of 3. (as 3 entries) a long way to go before "acknowledgement" . ..stupid politicians.

(Living in the rapeseed heavy tens I have to look further afield for the good stuff, bagged some lovely Canadian forest honey recently, very flavoursome, .my Greek honey is like a liquid flower sherbet (just order more) & I still have a little NZ honeydew forest honey that again is worth seeking out.

By comparison my wife got a sample of local rape honey in set crystalline form which I must try but know how much it varies & bland as can be, I keep avoiding it (unfairly)