Production and marketing of artificial honey in the European Union

Subject: Production and marketing of artificial honey in the European Union

The Italian association ‘Miele in Cooperative’, which has around 390 000 hives in Italy, has warned against the dangers of the ‘artificial honey’ produced and marketed in the United States, which could enter Europe in the form of a counterfeit product.

Several non-European companies, such as Beeio Honey Ltd, have patented a ‘honey’ that is artificially produced, without bees, and are placing that product on the market. This practice would seem to be growing.

The European Anti-Fraud Office report for 2022 showed that almost half the honey imported from countries outside Europe is artificial, counterfeit, adulterated or otherwise fails to satisfy the transparency and quality parameters set in the Honey Directive (2001/110/EC).

Given that Annex I to the current European law on honey defines ‘honey’ as ‘the natural sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera bees’, can the Commission indicate:

1. What measures it plans to take to protect European honey production against the growth in ‘artificial honey’ and the expansion in the counterfeiting of honey in recent years?

2. Whether all products described as ‘honey’ when no bees are involved in their production do not constitute fraud against European consumers in the light of Directive 2001/110/EC, meaning that legal action should be taken to prohibit their placing on the Community market?

Submitted:24.1.2024

Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski on behalf of the European Commission (23 February 2024)

Honey placed on the EU market must comply with the definition set out in the Honey Directive (1). This definition in conjunction with the provisions on fair information practices of the FIC Regulation (2) ensures the term ‘honey’ can only be used for products complying with the Honey Directive.

If food products not meeting the definition of honey but using the denomination ‘honey’ appear on the EU market, national competent authorities must take appropriate action.

The Commission takes the results of the 2021-2022 EU-wide investigation on adulteration in imported honey (3) very seriously. In 2022, EU import requirements were reinforced by placing an authenticity requirement for exporting countries in honey import certificates (4).

A recent amendment to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2292 (5) will make the import of honey possible only from establishments listed in accordance with the Official Controls Regulation (EU) 2017/625 (6).

Moreover, to increase the capabilities of Member States’ control authorities to detect honey fraud, the Commission launched in 2023 a project addressing the need for validated methods of analysis that are fit-for-purpose to detect new types of sugar-based adulterants used in honey.

1 ∙ ⸱ Annex I, point 1 of Council Directive 2001/110/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to honey: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX

%3A32001L0110&qid=1676127182675 : ‘Honey is the natural sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant-sucking insects on the 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’. 2 ∙ ⸱ Article 7 (fair information practices) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02011R1169-20180101&qid=1676128495127 3 ∙ ⸱ https://food.ec.europa.eu/safety/eu-agri-food-fraud-network/eu-coordinated-actions/honey-2021-2022_en 4 ∙ ⸱ Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/36 of 11 January 2022 amending Annex III to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235 as regards model certificates for the entry into the Union of consignments of certain live aquatic animals and products of animal origin: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R0036&qid=1700761025754 5 ∙ ⸱ Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2652 of 15 September 2023 amending and correcting Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2292 with regard to requirements for the entry into the Union of honey, meat, highly refined products, gelatine capsules, fishery products and requirements for private attestation and amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/630 as regards private attestation requirements for composite products exempted from official controls at border control posts: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202302652 6 ∙ ⸱ Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities: https://eur- lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/625/oj












| | )Finally, you may be aware of the political agreement reached by the co-legislators on 30 January 2024 on the modification of the Honey Directive and how some of the new provisions may support fight against fraud.