Honey labelling

Spanish beekeepers and many other countries in the European Union are very unhappy about the labelling of honey. They consider that the labelling is very deficient at present, even though it has been improved by the last decree of the Council of Ministers of 19 March 2020. They want to make it clearer where the honey comes from.

Summary:

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1. The new labelling of honey

Before the decree, honey was only indicated if it came from Europe or outside the EU. Now the country of origin must be indicated, but in the case of blending, the percentage from each country of origin is not indicated.

According to various agricultural associations, the mixing of cheap honeys from other countries outside Europe is a common practice. They had hoped that the new labelling would make this clear, but this is not the case as the percentage is not indicated in the case of mixtures of honeys from different places. Moreover, they add that the quality of the honey cannot be guaranteed in this way, as the origin of the honey is not clear.

a) Historical complaints by beekeepers

Spanish beekeepers have been asking for decades for proper labelling of honey, to clearly indicate what they sell and what the consumer buys. Because, in their opinion and in our opinion, honey is sold for something that is not honey, since the big industry mixes its honeys with silopes and other substitutes in order to throw down prices and lower costs.

2. Damage to the national product

The great damage that occurs is because honey is sold for something other than honey. Also, never a Spanish beekeeper with the current cost of living in Spain can compete with a labor force as cheap as in Asian countries. Everything in the end leads to a depopulation of rural areas.

There is also the increase in regulations and requirements for Spanish beekeepers, which in the end leads to more costs and not so in the case of foreign beekeepers. In conclusion, we can say that in order to make a few people richer, the rest of us Spaniards are throwing stones at our roof.

3. Measures that should be improved

There has been an improvement in the labelling of honey, but there is still much room for improvement. Among the things that need to be improved, we have the following:

Specifying on the label whether or not the honey has been pasteurized
Provide official laboratories with more means to detect adulterated honeys.
To take measures against the arrival of honeys from other countries with prices below the cost of production.

Sources:

Los apicultores españoles denuncian que la normativa de etiquetado de la miel se queda corta. RTVE