Spain and 20 other countries demand in Europe to specify the origin of honey mixtures on the label

Published 2023년 1월 31일

Tridge summary

The European Union, with the support of around twenty member countries including Spain, Germany, and Austria, is pushing for changes to honey labeling regulations to better inform consumers about the origin of the honey they purchase. This initiative, spearheaded by Slovenia, aims to address the issue of honey mixtures from cheaper third-country sources, which currently lack clear labeling, creating an uneven playing field for EU honey producers. The proposed changes are part of a potential revision of the Honey Directive, aimed at enhancing transparency, boosting sector profitability, and restoring consumer trust. This proposal is made amidst concerns about the state of the beekeeping sector in Spain, which plans to protest against the challenges it faces, such as imported honey triangulated through Europe, leading to undermined prices and profitability.

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Original content

Around twenty countries of the European Union (EU), including Spain, have requested that the labeling of honey must specify its place of origin, also in the case of mixtures of different honeys, to help consumers consumers to better choose the product they buy. The petition, at the initiative of Slovenia, was supported in a Council of Agriculture Ministers by Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia. In a document prepared before the meeting by Slovenia and supported by 19 Member States, including Spain, it is explained that honey imported from third countries, which is often used in honey mixtures on the European market, "is usually significantly cheaper than honey produced in the EU'. "When consumers choose this cheaper honey, they do not receive complete, clear and unambiguous information about its origin. For this reason, ...

Source: Agroinformacion