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In European Union honey has rules what stuff you can sell under the title of honey
Text from Australian origin
European Union
Edible bee products
Australia has a trading history with the following European Union (EU) member countries;
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
To export to EU member states, all Australian exporters must be aware of the bee product
provisions in Regulations (EC) No 178/2002, (EC) No 852/2004 and (EC) No 853/2004 and
must produce their bee products to comply with these regulations.
Exporters to the EU must register with AQIS and must have implemented a HACCP based
food safety program, which meets the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. The
Australian Honey Bee Industry Council’s B-QUAL and other JASANZ accredited food safety
programs meet the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.
All honey exported to the EU must be monitored for residues in compliance with Directive
96/23/EC. Due to the collaborative effort between the Australian Honey Bee Industry
Council (AHBIC), the National Residue Survey (NRS) and AQIS, all Australian honey meets
this requirement and exporters do not need to do further residue testing if the product they are
exporting is of Australian origin.
The European Union does not allow the use of antibiotics in bee products. The only antibiotic
allowed in Australian apiculture is oxytetracycline, which only a veterinarian can prescribe
for the treatment of an outbreak of European Foulbrood. Exporters cannot send honey to the
EU from properties that have treated their hives with oxytetracycline in the previous six
months.
The European Union permits the export of Australian honey blended with imported honey.
However, the honey must be the product of one of the countries allowed to send honey to the
EU. Each year, the EU updates this list and the list is current for 12. The current list can be
found in Commission Decision 2009/800/EC and has been reproduced at Attachment 1.
Exporters must ensure that the appropriate certificate, which they have accurately completed,
accompanies all edible bee product exports to EU member countries. An AQIS authorised
officer will check, sign and stamp all certificates for edible bee products to the EU. Manual
EU edible bee product certificates are available in English, French/English, German/English
and Italian/English.