Starting Sunday, new honey labeling requirements will take effect and Estonian beekeepers hope the change will lead to fairer competition.
The biggest change concerns honey blends. Until now, it was enough for labels to state, for example, that the product was a blend of different honeys originating in the European Union or a blend originating outside the European Union. Evelin Kivima, chief specialist for food safety at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, said honey blends will now have to list their ingredients in greater detail.
“These labels can no longer be used. For honey blends, all countries of origin together with their percentages must be listed in the main field of vision on the label. For example: Estonia 50 percent, Latvia 20 percent, Lithuania 20 percent and Poland 10 percent — in descending order by share,” Kivima explained.
For Estonian beekeepers, the new requirements will not bring major changes, said Mario Kalvet, chairman of the board of the Association of Professional Beekeepers.
“Estonian beekeepers already indicate on their jars that the country of origin is Estonia, or even Võrumaa or Saaremaa. The bigger change affects those who package honey or blend honey from different countries,” he said.
Estonian beekeepers hope the changes to labeling requirements will lead to fairer competition and more effective oversight.
“Fraudulent operations exist all over the world: They buy a certain amount of honey from beekeepers and then mix in laboratory-made syrups. The resulting mixture looks very much like honey and smells like honey,” Kalvet warned. He said he hopes the new labeling rules will also give regulators new ways to monitor the market. “The ultimate goal is for the entire supply chain to be traceable, from the beekeeper all the way to the jar of honey.”
In addition to mixing genuine honey with syrup, some producers also commit fraud by misrepresenting the country of origin, selling imported honey as domestic.
“This kind of origin fraud is also very common within the European Union. In countries that import large quantities of honey because they cannot produce enough themselves, this kind of false labeling is unfortunately quite widespread,” Kalvet said.
He added that Estonian beekeepers are capable of producing enough honey to meet domestic demand.
“Estonian beekeepers are exporters as well. Harvests vary from year to year and production was somewhat lower last year, but inventories were very strong, which covered Estonia’s honey demand. In earlier years, production has certainly been slightly higher than consumption.”
The changes to honey labeling rules take effect on Sunday, though products labeled under the previous rules may continue to be sold until stocks run out.
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