Selling honey from the hives in the UK

[john1]

Hi,
If I have some extra honey in my hive, am I allowed to sell it?
I am wondering whether there is any regulation in the UK for selling honey from the hive?
I am planning to extract the extra honey and put it small jars and sell.
Thanks,

 

[pargyle]

Yes - there's a few hoops to jump through but most of us manage it ...

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

 

[john1]

Thank you so much @pargyle.
I had a look at the website and I have few doubts.

1. How do we find the crop it comes from?
2. How do we decide the expiry date?
3. Are we allowed to import honey from other countries outside EU eg: India?

Thanks,

 

[pargyle]

1. You don't NEED to say what crop it comes from unless you are selling it as a single flower honey such as heather, lime, borage, lavender - in which case you need to be certain that those crops are the majority of the flowers they have foraged on - ie: you need to have your hives sited in the middle of the crops they will forage on. If it is just general forage they have been on you just label it as 'honey' you can call it Manchester Honey or a more specific location from where your hives are sited.

2. Any date you like - I usually put a date 2 years on from the date it was jarred up but there's nothing to stop you putting 5 years on ... it may have crystallised by then but there won't be anything wrong with it. It's a recommended sell by date not an expiry date but as they have found honey in sealed jars in Egyptian tombs I would not worry too much about it ... to be honest, local raw honey sells very quickly and you won't get anywhere near that sort of sell by date.

3. No, there are strict laws about honey imports - as a small producer the hoops you will have to jump through make it not worthwhile and you then also need to declare on the label the country of origin or if it is a blend of EU and Non-EU honeys .... then you are competing with the stuff at 75p a jar on the supermarket shelves ... I would not even think about it.

It's important that you follow the honey labelling requirements if you are going to be selling honey to the public and if you are selling through third parties (retail shops) you need to have a batch number on the label as well (it's a good idea in any case as you then can rotate your stock or know which particular apiary it came from if you have more than one ...

 

[john1]

Thank you so much @pargyle for the quick reply.
Thanks a million, I will read the requirements for label on the website you sent yesterday.
Thanks

 

[ericbeaumont]

am I allowed to sell it?

You are positively encouraged to sell it, John, because it will contribute to a reduction in imported honey, reduce food transport miles, and give your local customers great pleasure.

As well as checking the labelling regs. in Pargyle's links please consider what price you will set and the size of jars you use.

In the old days honey was sold cheaply in big one pound jars. Nowadays higher prices and a slightly smaller 12oz or 8oz jar reflects its increased value, and you will sell easily in an urban area such as Manchester.

Have you checked out the local price of local honey?

 

[enrico]

and as an aside dont forget you must use new jars and lids

 

[W0otz]

and as an aside dont forget you must use new jars and lids

To the letter of the law, yes. In reality there's nothing wrong with re-using jars though, it's highly unlikely that anyone's going to come after you providing they're undamaged and clean. Lids are another matter as the seal does deteriorate with use.

If I get jars returned I'll probably run them through the dishwasher and re-use them (with new lids), though I've only recently started selling and haven't had any returned jars yet.


The Food Standards Agency and Re-Use of Jars – Bee 1st beekeeping supplies

However, more recently on the BBC 4 programme “You and Yours” a FSA’s spokesman said that whilst in principal this is true, it does require a degree of common sense. Few materials are safer than glass. Glass is inert, it does not leach chemicals as plastic containers may. The jar filler needs to be sure the jar is not chipped or damaged and is clean.

 

[ericbeaumont]

there's nothing wrong with re-using jars

True, though the water, consumed energy and time spent on removing labels, cleaning and drying may not make the job worthwhile.

 

[john1]

You are positively encouraged to sell it, John, because it will contribute to a reduction in imported honey, reduce food transport miles, and give your local customers great pleasure.

As well as checking the labelling regs. in Pargyle's links please consider what price you will set and the size of jars you use.

In the old days honey was sold cheaply in big one pound jars. Nowadays higher prices and a slightly smaller 12oz or 8oz jar reflects its increased value, and you will sell easily in an urban area such as Manchester.

Have you checked out the local price of local honey?

I can see online people selling 340g of honey for £6.50, so I am thinking of selling 340g for around £5.00 as a beginner. If I manage to find a jar of 500g then 500g for around £7 or so.

I am wondering whether I can pack it immediately after extracting or do I need to do anything to reduce the water content or do I need to add any preservatives?
I have heard people keeping honey in the sunlight to reduce the water content.

Is there any tool to measure the quality of the honey?

In order to measure 340g or 500g, can I use a normal measuring cup?

Thanks

 

[thorn]

I can see online people selling 340g of honey for £6.50, so I am thinking of selling 340g for around £5.00 as a beginner. If I manage to find a jar of 500g then 500g for around £7 or so.

I am wondering whether I can pack it immediately after extracting or do I need to do anything to reduce the water content or do I need to add any preservatives?
I have heard people keeping honey in the sunlight to reduce the water content.

Is there any tool to measure the quality of the honey?

In order to measure 340g or 500g, can I use a normal measuring cup?

Thanks

Strain the honey to get bits of bee and wax out of it. Buy a refractometer to check the water content. Put jars on a set of kitchen scales while filling from a container with a tap.
You can buy all the above, but the quality is measured by your taste buds. I'm sad to say you can't buy those.
And no preservatives or any additives at all.

 

[enrico]

Water content is important. Buy a honey refractometer from eBay for about £25. Before you fiddle with it come back on the forum for advice! The honey has to be below a certain water level. Don't use second hand jars as you don't know if people have cleaned their paint brushes in them. Label it correctly. Sell it at a decent price. It only takes one person to sell poor honey and they could bring us all down!
Extract your honey and seive it to get any debris out and leave for 24 hours for the bubbles to settle then you can jar it up straight away. Keep the last few jars for yourself as they will have the highest water content and the most bubbles.
Do an online course for a few quid to get you a hygiene certificate. You don't need it but it adds to your validity as a good honey producer. Make sure all your kit is clean and always check jars for shards of glass. Be thorough and do the job properly because you are dealing with food that you are selling to others

 

[ericbeaumont]

online people selling 340g of honey for £6.50

That may be so across the UK, but not Manchester. You're under-pricing, which will suppress the perception of value for customers and beekeepers everywhere.

RAW Manchester Honey 227g (£7.28/227)
Urmston Honey (M41) | Manchester Honey Co. (£10/340)
THE FINEST HONEY, Manchester, Runny Honey (£7.30/227)

selling 340g for around £5.00 as a beginner

Beginner beekeeper has no bearing at all on your price, so set your sights higher. If you sell at £6.50 it will all go; if you sell at £7 it will all go. In London I sell a 340 for £9.50.

do anything to reduce the water content or do I need to add any preservatives?

If you do anything beyond straining you will devalue the product. Honey will keep for 3,000 years without risk. Buy a double stainless steel strainer (two, because one may become clogged and slow you down).

keeping honey in the sunlight to reduce the water content.

Rubbish.

tool to measure the quality of the honey

A refractometer.

to measure 340g or 500g, can I use a normal measuring cup?

Buy a food-grade honey bucket with a tap. To maximise your return, bottle honey in smaller, not bigger jars: try a 227/8oz. Use electronic kitchen scales and fill an extra 2g to be safe.

 

[pargyle]

I can see online people selling 340g of honey for £6.50, so I am thinking of selling 340g for around £5.00 as a beginner. If I manage to find a jar of 500g then 500g for around £7 or so.

I am wondering whether I can pack it immediately after extracting or do I need to do anything to reduce the water content or do I need to add any preservatives?
I have heard people keeping honey in the sunlight to reduce the water content.

Is there any tool to measure the quality of the honey?

In order to measure 340g or 500g, can I use a normal measuring cup?

Thanks

You may get away with putting your honey straight into jars after straining and settling but if you end up with more than a couple of hives you will find storing in 30lb plastic buckets until you need it to be jarred up for sale is a better way forward.

340gm jars are the current trend ... around a fiver for 340gm is a mid point price where I live - you won't have any trouble selling out at that price. The cost of jars and lids are increasing daily so you may want to start a bit higher - more so if people around you are at £6.50 ! It's not totally about price when selling local honey ... taste, quality of the product, packaging, labelling and clientele will all dictate what the market will stand.

A set of digital scales off Amazon are essential (not expensive) as you need to be accurate and consistent with the weight .. put the empty jar on the scale and set the tare to zero and fill the jar to the correct weight. Not all jars are the same so you really do have to do it properly.

If your honey was capped when you extracted it the likelihood is that it will be below the 20% level but if you are extracting honey that is not capped you should invest in a honey refractometer - again, Amazon, not expensive and it will give you an accurate measure of the water content. Too much water in the honey and it will ferment ... not something your customers will appreciate !

From the sounds of your posts you need a bit of reading ,,, The Haynes Manual of Beekeeping will answer a lot of the practical questions you are raising and will take you step by step through the first couple of years with a 'paint by numbers' guide. Well worth investing in ...

 

[Amari]

In order to measure 340g or 500g, can I use a normal measuring cup?

Thanks

Measuring cup would be tedious! Try a tank with a valve.
https://www.thorne.co.uk/tanks-valves-storage-strainers/tanks

 

[pargyle]

Measuring cup would be tedious! Try a tank with a valve.
https://www.thorne.co.uk/tanks-valves-storage-strainers/tanks

Yes ... I use a bucket with a tap to decant but then I fill a big jug with a good pouring lip and fill the jars with that ... just seems to work better for me than filling directly from the honey gate.

 

[W0otz]

I can see online people selling 340g of honey for £6.50, so I am thinking of selling 340g for around £5.00 as a beginner. If I manage to find a jar of 500g then 500g for around £7 or so.

I am wondering whether I can pack it immediately after extracting or do I need to do anything to reduce the water content or do I need to add any preservatives?
I have heard people keeping honey in the sunlight to reduce the water content.

Is there any tool to measure the quality of the honey?

In order to measure 340g or 500g, can I use a normal measuring cup?

Thanks

Why price lower as a beginner? Perhaps you've made mistakes that have set the bees back and reduced their potential, but what you do harvest is honey like any other. Don't drag the pricing down for everyone.

You can pack immediately after extracting (providing the water content is ok, see next paragraph). General process is remove frames from hive, uncap them, extract them, run through a double sieve or other filter into a settling tank, leave for at least 24 hours - fine wax particles that got through the filter, and any bubbles, will rise to the top. Skim off this foam/scum (nothing wrong with it, keep it for yourself, it just doesn't look as nice), jar the rest.

A cheap refractometer (approx £20, e.g. Honey Refractometer,V·RESOURCING Hand Held Be'(Baume)/Brix/Water Refractometer for Honey Test,Tri-Scale(Baume:38-43°;Brix:58-92%;Water:12-27%) : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen) will tell you the water% of your honey. To legally be sold as honey it needs to be 20% or lower, ideally under 18% for long term storage without fermenting.

Rather than a measuring cup put some scales under each jar, tare, fill to weight. Rinse and repeat. Tedious, but you know each jar is the correct weight or more and fine at a small scale. (e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/ACCUWEIGHT-Electronic-Weighting-Precision-Multifunctional/dp/B07CYN4VCH/)

 

[Gilberdyke John]

QUOTE
I am wondering whether I can pack it immediately after extracting or do I need to do anything to reduce the water content or do I need to add any preservatives?
I have heard people keeping honey in the sunlight to reduce the water content.

Ideally extraction is normally performed AFTER the honey water content has been reduced by the bees. Usually they cap the finished honey but it's possible to determine if the water content is reduced to permissible levels by a "shake test" or more reliably with a honey refractometer (ten to twenty pounds on eBay - just make sure you buy one suitable for honey)

 

[ericbeaumont]

Those two paragraphs look like they were written by two different people...

 

[Wilco]

Buy a food-grade honey bucket with a tap. To maximise your return, bottle honey in smaller, not bigger jars: try a 227/8oz. Use electronic kitchen scales and fill an extra 2g to be safe.

Not necessarily. 12oz jars are slightly more expensive than 8oz jars but if your unit price per oz of honey is the same. Technically the jar cost should work out less per unit of honey using 12oz instead of 8oz unless the 12oz jars cost 50% more than the 8oz ones.