Why it Matters
A British honey assurance standard in development, focused on authenticity, traceability and responsible practice.
Raising confidence in British honey
Honey should be one of the simplest foods we buy. Yet its journey from hive to jar can be complex.
The Honey Standard is developing a British honey assurance scheme around authenticity, traceability and responsible practice, from the beekeeper through extraction and packing to the finished jar.
Our aim is to make it easier to demonstrate when honey has been produced, handled and packed with integrity. The detailed technical requirements and governance arrangements are being developed with input from practical and technical expertise.
Why does honey need a standard?
Honey is a natural product with enormous variation. Its character changes with geography, season, forage and weather. That individuality is something worth protecting.
Honey is also vulnerable to misrepresentation, loss of traceability and adulteration as it moves through the supply chain.
The Honey Standard has been created to provide a clear, credible framework against which producers and packers can demonstrate good practice and provide evidence for the claims they make.
It isn't about making every honey the same.
It's about protecting what makes genuine honey different.
What does The Honey Standard look for?
Authenticity
Honey should be what it says it is.
The proposed standard will set requirements intended to protect honey integrity and support evidence-based claims about origin, composition and production.
Traceability
Every jar has a story — and that story should be traceable.
The proposed scheme will ask operators to maintain records connecting honey to its source and following it through handling, packing and sale.
Responsible practice
Trust is about more than the product itself.
We are developing expectations for the practices behind the honey, including production, handling, record keeping and improvement.
From hive to jar
Authenticity doesn't stop at the apiary.
Honey can pass through several hands before reaching the person who eventually enjoys it. That's why The Honey Standard is designed to consider the wider chain of custody, including both honey producers and packing facilities.
Evidence and traceability follow the honey as it moves through the supply chain, helping to protect its integrity all the way to the finished jar.
One continuous story, from hive to jar.
Setting the standard
The standard for authenticity
Clear requirements. Independent verification. Greater confidence in British honey.
The Honey Standard is developing requirements for authenticity, provenance and traceability, alongside impartial governance and a proportionate certification process.
