my THxxxxs had "best before december 2012" and that failed because the word " end" is not present
Yes, a curious detail
as it appears in the 1996 regulations which we were discussing at the local bka. The rules cover all packaged food, not specifically honey and the basic requirement is that you must put 'best before' a day month year in that order, so "best before 31 Dec 2014" is the full and acceptable form.
The rules are relaxed in that if the date would normally be within three months, you can drop the year, so fresh fruit might be "best before 31 Dec". The date concession if it's over three months is that you can drop the day and if it's over 18 months you can drop the month too. But because dropping the day or month leaves a significant difference the rules require an 'end' to be inserted.
a) 'best before end 2014'
b) 'best before end Dec 2014'
c) 'best before 31 Dec 2014'
The above are all good and effectively the same date.
d) 'best before 1 Dec 2014' is also good but not the same as above
e) 'best before Dec 2014' is not allowed because it could mean anywhere between c) and d) and
f) 'best before Dec 31 2014' is not acceptable this side of the Atlantic.
Sounds fussy in relation to honey where the date is likely to be two years away but 'thems the rules' and I'm surprised a big supplier like Th
ornes don't get it right.
Their web site claims the date rules are from 2003, they have not actually changed since 1996. You are expected to add dates, lot number and origin (e.g. 'produce of the UK') as additional information, but they are clearly not checking it is legal. The Th
ornes disclaimer is not to rely on their advice, which we can agree with.
