S.I. No. 155/1976:

FOOD STANDARDS (HONEY) (EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES) REGULATIONS, 1976.

FOOD STANDARDS (HONEY) (EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES) REGULATIONS, 1976.

I, MARK CLINTON, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 2 of the Food Standards Act, 1974 (No. 11 of 1974), after consultation with the Ministers for Health and Industry and Commerce and such organisations as appear to be interested to a substantial extent in the subject matter, hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Food Standards (Honey) (European Communities) Regulations, 1976, and shall come into operation on 12 August, 1976.

2. In these Regulations--

"the Directive" means Council Directive 74/409/EEC of 22 July, 1974;*

* OJ No. L 221 of 12/8/1974.

"honey", except in Regulation 3 (1) of these Regulations, means the foodstuff described in paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Directive;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries;

"offered for sale" means offered for sale in the State for human consumption.

3. (1) Food shall not be offered for sale as honey, unless it is the foodstuff described in Article 1 (1) of the Directive.

(2) Honey shall not be offered for sale unless it conforms to such of the rules laid down in the Annex to the Directive as apply to it and in addition to the foregoing it shall comply with Article 6 (2) of the Directive.

(3) The term "blossom honey", "honey dew honey", "comb honey", "chunk honey", "drained honey", "extracted honey" or "pressed honey" shall not be used in relation to food offered for sale unless the food is honey conforming to the appropriate definition contained in Article 1 (2) of the Directive.

(4) Where honey is offered for sale--

( a ) the term "honey" shall be used to designate it, and

( b ) the said term or any of the terms mentioned in paragraph (3) of this Regulation may be supplemented (inter alia) by--

(i) in case the proviso contained in Article 7 (4) (a) of the Directive is complied with, a reference to its origin, whether blossom or plant, and

(ii) in case the proviso contained in Article 7 (4) (b) of the Directive is complied with, a regional, territorial or topographical name.

4. (1) ( a ) Packages or containers in which honey is offered for sale shall have on them, or on a label attached to them, in the manner specified in Article 7 (1) of the Directive, the information so specified.

( b ) The information referred to in Article 7 (1) (a) of the Directive may be expressed in either Irish or English.

(2) Where honey is offered for sale otherwise than by retail and is put up in packages or containers of a net weight equal to or exceeding 10 kilogrammes, the packages or containers may be accompanied by documents on which there appears the information specified in paragraphs (b) and (c) of Article 7 (1) of the Directive, and in case such packages or containers are so accompanied, in so far as paragraph (1) of this Regulation would, apart from this paragraph, require any such information to be on, or on a label attached to, such packages or containers, it shall not apply in relation to them.

5. Honey shall not be offered for sale if there has been a contravention of Article 5 of the Directive in relation to it.

6. (1) Notwithstanding Regulation 3 of these Regulations, the provisions of the following paragraphs of this Regulation shall have effect.

(2) Honey which is either--

( a ) heather honey with a moisture content which exceeds 23%,

or,

( b ) baker's honey or industrial honey with a moisture content which exceeds 21%,

and which is not honey with a moisture content exceeding that contained in a specification given for the purposes of this paragraph and for the time being in force may be offered for sale if, but only if, such content is the result of natural conditions of production.

(3) Honey may, provided it is fit for human consumption, be offered for sale as baker's honey or industrial honey notwithstanding the fact that--

(i) it does not comply with the requirements referred to in Article 6 (3) (a) of the Directive,

(ii) its diastase activity or hydroxymethylfurfural content do not comply with the specifications laid down in the Annex.

(4) Where a direction given for the purpose of this paragraph by the Minister is for the time being in force, honey may, provided it is fit for human consumption, be offered for sale as such notwithstanding the fact that its diastase activity or hydroxymethylfurfural content do not comply with the specifications laid down in the Annex.

(5) The Minister may by notice published in the Iris Oifigiúil give either or both of the following, namely:

( a ) a specification for the purposes of paragraph (2) of this Regulation specifying a moisture content for honey (which in no case shall exceed 25%),

( b ) a direction for the purposes of paragraph (4) of this Regulation,

and any such specification or direction shall remain in force for such period as is stated in relation thereto in the notice, or in case no such period is so stated, then until the specification or direction is cancelled by a notice so published.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 14th day of July, 1976.

MARK CLINTON,

Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations which come into operation on 12 August, 1976 give effect to a Community Directive (74/409/EEC) on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the sale of honey.

The Directive lays down rules, definitions and compositional criteria for honey offered for sale. It prescribes that the package, container or label must contain the term "honey" or in certain instances a more specific description (e.g. "comb honey", chunk honey") and must also show the nett weight of the contents and the name and address of the producer or packer or of a seller established within the Community.

Compositional criteria are laid down in respect of sugar, moisture, sucrose, solids, minerals and acids. These criteria also include minimum levels of diastase activity and a maximum level of hydroxymethylfurfural content determined after processing and blending.

The Directive provides that honey, which does not meet the prescribed compositional criteria but is suitable for human consumption, may be sold as "baker's honey" or "industrial honey". Member States may allow the term "honey" alone to be used in such cases where the product meets the compositional criteria in all respects except those of diastase activity or hydroxymethylfurfural content.

The Directive prescribes a maximum moisture content of 23% for heather and clover honeys and 21% for others. Member States may authorise the marketing of heather honey, baker's honey or industrial honey with a higher moisture content but this may not in any case exceed 25%.

The Directive provides that the nett weight on packages, containers or labels must be expressed in grammes or kilogrammes. Up to 31 December, 1977 the equivalent weight expressed in imperial units may also be required to be shown. In addition Member States may retain any national provisions which require indication of the country of origin on packages, containers or labels in so far as such requirement relates to origins outside the Community.