New labeling rules for EU honey | tagesschau.de

Where does the honey on the supermarket shelf come from? This is not always clear, especially with honey mixtures. The EU has decided that this should now change. But there are exceptions.

In future, the country of origin must be clearly stated on honey packaging. Negotiators from the EU states and the European Parliament have agreed on this, according to information from the parliament and the EU states.

So far, honey mixtures only have to state whether it comes from the EU or not. Now it should be made clear how large the proportion of honey from each country is.

Exceptions for small quantities

Before the rules can come into force, Parliament and EU states must formally approve them. This is considered a formality.

EU states stressed that individual countries could decide that the obligation to indicate the percentage on the label applies only to the four largest proportions. There is also an exception for packaging weighing less than 30 grams. Here, the names of the countries of origin could also be abbreviated using a code.

New rules also for juices and jams

There will also be new rules for juices and jams in the future. According to the information, juices may in future be labeled as “reduced sugar” if at least 30 percent of the naturally occurring sugar has been removed. However, no sweeteners may be used.

In the future, at least 450 grams of fruit must be used for one kilogram of jam.