Photo: Oliver Berg/picture alliance/dpa
A spoonful in tea or a layer on breakfast bread: honey is an integral part of many households. But where exactly the sweet product was manufactured cannot yet be easily traced from the packaging. That's changing now.
In future, the country of origin must be clearly stated on honey packaging. Negotiators from the EU states and the European Parliament agreed on this on Wednesday night, 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. The proportion of honey from each country will also have to be stated in the future. 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.
Clear specifications 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.
At the end of last year, Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir raised another question: How should the shelf life of bee products be handled? He called for these dates to be abolished for rice, tea and honey, among other things. In his opinion, it is “completely pointless” that foods that can last for a long time are given such a date. This would only produce unnecessary waste. The minister held the EU responsible here.