Tamper-proof seals?

[Russel]

@Russel, Was there any other honey in the shop, from any source, and was any of that apparently vacuum sealed?

Met at their "office" so not had chance to check out yet but suspect there will be. They bring products from France so would think there will be some jars that "do not comply with the regs"

 

[YorkshireBees]

... some others had dust on lids... none was under £6.75 !!

Of course "Vintage" Honey always sells for a premium!

 

[mbc]

And then I put main label over the top (of the bit stuck on the jar)

I was told by some trading standards people to do this ( tuck the end in under the main label ) but I didnt like it aesthetically so I scanned the regs and couldnt see any recommendations for placement of the end of the tamper proof and so ignored the bad advice and since then have had different trading standards people see my jars with no comment

 

[Gower]

can anyone advise if there's a requirement to include some sort of seal or wadding to go directly under the lid, between the lid and jar, as i've had conflicting advice on this?

i was under the impression that provided the labelling was correct (following along the lines of Th###s or M########s labels) then that was sufficient, plus i throw in a tamper strip for good measure and a quality finish. One local shop told me they wouldnt consider any jars unless they had some sort of seal underneath the lid....

any advice gratefully received. i've done a few searches on the forum but have drawn a blank.

 

[itma]

can anyone advise if there's a requirement to include some sort of seal or wadding to go directly under the lid, between the lid and jar, as i've had conflicting advice on this? ...

I think there's likely a communication problem there somewhere.
The standard C0mpak gold metal lids (via my association) do have an underlining, with a 'seal' section round the edge to prevent leakages.
Its part of the lid design and manufacture. Not a separate piece.

I doubt anyone has lids that are just plain bent metal and only metal. But, hey, I could be wrong!

 

[oliver90owner]

some sort of seal or wadding to go directly under the lid

Of course they are sealed. All the lids have seals. None of mine would leak!

Think here. What extra 'wadding' do you find in any jars on the shelf in the supermarket? That's right - none.

Tamper-evident labels or seals are needed when items are on a self service shelf. When I was younger, by quite a lot, they were never heard of, and not needed. An indication of diminishing social standards, I think?

 

[Poly Hive]

I repeat. Two weeks ago I stayed with a packer, and Bee Farmer, he packs over 100 lines including his own honey and whilst I cannot say none have tamper evident seals none of the jars I handled had one.

So are they in fact a legal requirement at all?

PHJ

 

[Moggs]

Don't believe that all the labels that you see from suppliers are legally compliant - they are not! Lids have seals - it's the beading that sits internally, funnily enough, just over the area where it meets the lip of the jar.

 

[masterBK]

While tamper seals are not legally required they help protect you from people who might unscrew the lid of a jar without a seal and pop something unpleasant in it. Of course if you use them and a customer still finds something eg a wasp etc in it then obviously you have no excuse.
Having judged many honey shows I can tell you that I have found many things in jars of honey that shouldn't be there eg blue bottles, legs of crane flies(daddy long legs) , hair from dogs, cats, eyelashes, varroa, strands of cotton, short curly hairs (eyebrows or worse?), spiders webs

 

[Chris Luck]

Having judged many honey shows I can tell you that I have found many things in jars of honey that shouldn't be there eg blue bottles, legs of crane flies(daddy long legs) , hair from dogs, cats, eyelashes, varroa, strands of cotton, short curly hairs (eyebrows or worse?), spiders webs

Incredible.

Chris

 

[Gower]

thank you for your replies, i shall return to the local shop with a suitable response.

 

[m100]

I use bees for development tamper proof labels. Can get from own website or via T h o r n e s.

A 10p per label donation goes to their work + gift aid if you go via own website. Go on give something back I do it as opposed to other charity donations and also it goes down well with buyers.

I was selling some the other year and someone asked me about the different tamper proof labels. I explaned that the honey was identical but some jars had a Yorkshire Rose on them and some others were supporting Bees For Development followed by a brief explaination of what they did and that the jars were identical in price.

The buyer bought the one with the Yorkshire Rose on, maybe the thought of supporting foreigners didn't appeal.

 

[masterBK]

That tamper seal with the yorkshire rose on. Is that the one produced by the Yorkshire BKA? If so, it is rather attractive and colourful and also proclaims that you are a member of that association. Maybe it was the attractiveness of the Yorkshire seal compared with the rather bland green bees for development seal that appealed to them.

 

[m100]

Yes it is the Yorkshire Beekeepers one. To be honest I'd have preferred not to have made a sale rather than go through that and with that outcome!

 

[peterbees]

If you use the old-fashioned gold metal lids, a tamperproof label helps to cover the dents, dings and scratches

 

[thepliedes]

Hi, even if it's not a requirement by law it gives our 'customers' peace of mind to know they are getting a fresh jar of honey that hasn't been used by anyone else. I put the tail of the label underneath my main honey jar label.

 

[alanf]

One local shop told me they wouldnt consider any jars unless they had some sort of seal underneath the lid....

As previously noted, the seal (these days) is usually manufactured into the lid. There are a lot of regulations about what materials you can use to package food:

http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/publication/legalcompliancefoodpackaging.pdf

The basics are that the pack seals the food from the environment. Anything the food contacts in processing or packing shouldn't itself be adding contaminants (rust, chemicals, dirt etc). If you buy containers designed for the packaging of honey from a reputable source, either from the manufacturers direct or through bee supply retailers, then the manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that the packaging conforms to regulations and you should be OK.

However the emphasis in a lot of recent guidance is traceability throughout the food chain. Recent BBKA and Beecraft articles have outlined how the details of any medical treatment to your colonies should be recorded. That is one part of the food chain. I don't recall anything in the magazines about the packing but all the Food Standards Agency guides imply best practice for any food producer is to record details of each batch and that includes the packaging. If specific jar/lid batch details are not available, then at least the supplier and date bought should be recorded. For example, the sort of question you should be able to answer is: which batches are affected if a supplier notified you in a years time that the lids they sold you had dodgy seals?