Real honey at RHS Wisley,

[Ian123]

Grab a thornes catalogue and the label section has a few examples ....other suppliers are available!!

 

[ericbeaumont]

As a newbee, is there a reference guide for labels etc should I be in the position to sell honey later this year? I would like to avoid all the pitfalls etc mentioned in the above posts.

Plain recipe: http://www.thorne.co.uk/image/data/Documents/UK Honey Labelling Regulations.pdf

Ditto: https://www.freemanharding.co.uk/xi...ing-regulations-in-the-uk.html?page_type=post

You'll be keen to plough through the Honey (England) Regulations 2015 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1348/made

The BBKA had a good plain guide but I could find it only via a blog which won't link here; google Talking with Bees or BBKA Honey Labelling & Selling Advice and you should find the link.

Be aware that Thorne labels have the dead and dusty look of 1958 about them, and it says much about the unchanging and undemanding nature of beekeepers that Thorne can get away with selling the same old same old. If you have a designer or design in mind, Fast Labels or Sticky Labels are just two names that will print economically.

 

[Newbeeneil]

When I posted a couple of pictures of honey 9 days ago I never envisaged 123 posts......... I've enjoyed the way the conversation's gone tho.
It's what this forum does well. Good on you all!

 

[E&MBees]

Plain recipe: http://www.thorne.co.uk/image/data/Documents/UK Honey Labelling Regulations.pdf

Ditto: https://www.freemanharding.co.uk/xi...ing-regulations-in-the-uk.html?page_type=post

You'll be keen to plough through the Honey (England) Regulations 2015 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1348/made

The BBKA had a good plain guide but I could find it only via a blog which won't link here; google Talking with Bees or BBKA Honey Labelling & Selling Advice and you should find the link.

Be aware that Thorne labels have the dead and dusty look of 1958 about them, and it says much about the unchanging and undemanding nature of beekeepers that Thorne can get away with selling the same old same old. If you have a designer or design in mind, Fast Labels or Sticky Labels are just two names that will print economically.

Thanks for the links. I will investigate.

 

[ericbeaumont]

You would like to think it’s Uk pollen though from his own hives. Given the packs of pollen you can see in the corner of 1 of the pics you could be forgiven for wondering.

I'm wondering less and doubting more after a trip to RHS Wisley today (beecheck, mumcheck); we had lunch there (goulash good, prices high, queue long) and saw the hellebores in flower, but these days Wisley feels more and more like an outdoor Waitrose. Is that good, is that bad? Not sure.

Three pollens were on sale: Hilltop (packet/£7.50/100g/Poland), Roots & Wings (packet/£7/100g/EU) and Beesmax (Kilner-type jar/£7/170g/EU). Beesmax placed the EU credit on the lid label, third line down; no other info labels.

You don't have to be Inspector Japp to lean towards a conclusion that the Beesmax EU pollen went into the Beesmax UK honey; if it did, then not only is it an added ingredient but the source of harvest is misleading.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have a blog link to fellow sufferers on the Macmillan community page and lots of people ask me about “Raw” Manuka honey. I have sent many some of my own honey and steered them away from Manuka towards small beekeeper produced UK honey explaining that it will be what they consider RAW because there appears to be no definition of raw when it pertains to honey. This thread has confused me even more.

 

[enrico]

I have a blog link to fellow sufferers on the Macmillan community page and lots of people ask me about “Raw” Manuka honey. I have sent many some of my own honey and steered them away from Manuka towards small beekeeper produced UK honey explaining that it will be what they consider RAW because there appears to be no definition of raw when it pertains to honey. This thread has confused me even more.

There is a dictionary defenition of raw. The question is, does your honey fit it! ..

 

[Beefriendly]

You mean "Raw " as in red and painful, especially as the result of skin abrasion?

 

[Repwoc]

You mean "Raw " as in red and painful, especially as the result of skin abrasion?

As in "raw egg" you mean?

 

[Newbeeneil]

I'm wondering less and doubting more after a trip to RHS Wisley today (beecheck, mumcheck); we had lunch there (goulash good, prices high, queue long) and saw the hellebores in flower, but these days Wisley feels more and more like an outdoor Waitrose. Is that good, is that bad? Not sure.

Three pollens were on sale: Hilltop (packet/£7.50/100g/Poland), Roots & Wings (packet/£7/100g/EU) and Beesmax (Kilner-type jar/£7/170g/EU). Beesmax placed the EU credit on the lid label, third line down; no other info labels.

You don't have to be Inspector Japp to lean towards a conclusion that the Beesmax EU pollen went into the Beesmax UK honey; if it did, then not only is it an added ingredient but the source of harvest is misleading.

I tend to agree Eric.....I didn't really look at the pollen while I was there.
Send my regards to mum

 

[enrico]

You mean "Raw " as in red and painful, especially as the result of skin abrasion?

Try the other one....as in the sound made by a lion!!!!

 

[ericbeaumont]

no definition of raw when it pertains to honey.

You're not confused, Dani; that's it in a nutshell.

 

[Repwoc]

Do dictionary definitions not apply to honey?

 

[Ian123]

Do dictionary definitions not apply to honey?

No only legal one’s when it’s being sold

 

[Repwoc]

No only legal one’s when it’s being sold

Have you got a reference for that?

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Thanks for the links. I will investigate.

This is a list of the main legislation:

1 - The Honey (England) Regulations 2015
2 - The Food (Lot Marking) Regulations 1996
3 - Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament etc.
4 - The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006

Item 1 above basically defines honey and says it's illegal to sell as honey something that's not derived from the plants and honeybees combination. So, feeding bees sugar in the summer and extracting it is NOT honey.

Item 2 says all food produced in lots (batches) should have a lot marking on its label but then lists loads of exceptions including one that I use, which is to use a day, month and year as a best before date and I use that date to record my batches of jarred honey.

Item 3 above lists everything that should be on a label and, interestingly, says that all statutory information should be printed on a label greater than 1.2mm high when measured at the height of a lower-case x (the so-called X-height, which, as an aside, is also used to define the height of lettering on road signs, but not in these regulations).

Item 4 requires you to use metric measurements of quantity - imperial quantities are allowed as well but must not be more prominent that the metric. It also requires the quantity on the label to be printed at a certain size, depending on the weight, so a weight over 1kg must be printed over 6mm, 200g to 1kg must be over 4mm, etc

If you have trouble sleeping, read the above regulations - they will get you to sleep!

CVB

 

[ericbeaumont]

Do dictionary definitions not apply to honey?

Even if they did, it would depend on the dictionary: try this one, with 81 definitions of raw, some of which you won't want your granny to see.

 

[For want of a better word]

Even if they did, it would depend on the dictionary: try this one, with 81 definitions of raw, some of which you won't want your granny to see.

As embarrassing when your granddaughter carries out one of those family research projects and finds out her great great grandmother was jailed for brothel keeping in Narbeth!

 

[enrico]

This is a list of the main legislation:

1 - The Honey (England) Regulations 2015
2 - The Food (Lot Marking) Regulations 1996
3 - Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament etc.
4 - The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006

Item 1 above basically defines honey and says it's illegal to sell as honey something that's not derived from the plants and honeybees combination. So, feeding bees sugar in the summer and extracting it is NOT honey.

Item 2 says all food produced in lots (batches) should have a lot marking on its label but then lists loads of exceptions including one that I use, which is to use a day, month and year as a best before date and I use that date to record my batches of jarred honey.

Item 3 above lists everything that should be on a label and, interestingly, says that all statutory information should be printed on a label greater than 1.2mm high when measured at the height of a lower-case x (the so-called X-height, which, as an aside, is also used to define the height of lettering on road signs, but not in these regulations).

Item 4 requires you to use metric measurements of quantity - imperial quantities are allowed as well but must not be more prominent that the metric. It also requires the quantity on the label to be printed at a certain size, depending on the weight, so a weight over 1kg must be printed over 6mm, 200g to 1kg must be over 4mm, etc

If you have trouble sleeping, read the above regulations - they will get you to sleep!

CVB

But nowhere does it say you cannot use a word that describes your honey. Eg. Raw!
I reiterate. I don't use it on my jars but do use it on an advertising poster.
E

 

[ericbeaumont]

But nowhere does it say you cannot use a word that describes your honey.

The regs. CVB set out above define information that must be included, is legal or must be observed, not that which must not.

The debate is not whether raw is a legally permissible term, but whether in the producers' eyes (ours) the word adds to or detracts from the long-term credibility of UK honey. In the hands of some it could be used to hide the true identity of a dilute or impure product, and when used authentically it describes an uncooked product (meat, carrots) or milk (by regulation in law). Anything else is conjecture, open to interpretation and riding on a bandwagon.

Beefarmer Neil Pont's statement in the BeeCraft article on Raw Honey was refreshingly robust: we see no need to over-emphasise the quality of our honey and mislead customers. The taste of our pure English honey speaks for itself. (http://pontshoney.com/raw-honey-statement/)

The advice, suggestion, wish, and recommendation of senior TS officers in England and Scotland is that producers do not use the term. Here is the UK Food Standards Authority doc. Criteria for the Use of the terms Fresh, Pure, Natural etc in Food; it was written in 2002 and were it to be updated, would surely include raw.

As the word is fluid and may change in meaning according to the next food fashion, or become discredited through misuse, what is the long-term benefit of using it? For sure, it's a current buzzword that may cut to the chase with customers (who often have no real idea of what it means) but the reality is that well-packaged local honey doesn't need buzzwords: it sells itself.