When is Local Honey LOCAL

[MuswellMetro]

We have been selling honey for the last few years at a local Appleday that is run by a Trust and we have bees in their orchards and they use some of our honey to sweeten some of their Apple juice

This year we setup stall to sell at the appleday 12oz jars of honey from their orchard (hives 200ft ft away) at £5 per 12oz jar (equiv to £6.66 per pound) then we noticed a new seller of Jams had Local honey. We had later been told that as we set up they immediately slashed their honey from £6 per lb to £4.50 per lb (i think they thought our jar were full 1lb not 12oz)

ok we did not enter into at trade war, but their suppposed local honey was from 30 miles away and a different county

So how Local is Local when it comes to advertising, surely not 30 miles away compared to 200ft

 

[Tim1606]

I blame the organisers for allowing them to sell it knowing you were there already.

 

[Tom Bick]

30 miles is stretching it by some way. Personally I would like to think of local to the bees foraging range from the hive.

 

[alanf]

Whatever you can get away with, no established or legal definition. Like " fresh", "country", " tasty", "artisan" and lots of other descriptive words that can be used without restriction. Defined terms, like "honey" or " organic" are reserved, place names and forage varieties too. "Local" can be as distant as you want.

 

[Tim1606]

According to wikipedia, the definition of local refers to nearby or in the immediate area.
Mind you, how long is a piece of string.

 

[pargyle]

I presume that their honey wasn't labelled LOCAL honey ? Just a sign saying local honey .. In which case I would be telling punters to look at your label and see just how close to the bees that made it your honey was ... and change your sign to 'Honey from bees JUST OVER THERE !' Play them with the marketing game ....

 

[user 6228]

200ft!!! that could be the next county, our outlet is only 50m away!

p.s. the county boundary is 50m away in the other direction...

local to me is one bee flight distance i.e. 4km. Its only local if you could meet the producer(the bee) on its way to work outside the shop door

 

[MuswellMetro]

I presume that their honey wasn't labelled LOCAL honey ? Just a sign saying local honey .. In which case I would be telling punters to look at your label and see just how close to the bees that made it your honey was ... and change your sign to 'Honey from bees JUST OVER THERE !' Play them with the marketing game ....

we did ! problem was they were nearer the door and their honey was just label "honey" and their address ,but who looks at the small print on the label

we go a lot of, "oh if i had known you were selling honey from the orchard", but no matter we can sell it anyway at a higher price just a few miles south as we can get the london prices of £6,50 for 12oz (>£8.50 per lb)

 

[REDWOOD]

30 miles !!! that's like selling Cardiff honey in Swansea, I would consider that an infringement on your patch and ordered the organisers to remove them or at least have them to set a price

 

[oliver90owner]

Local to the addy on the label? Buyer beware!

 

[enrico]

200ft!!! that could be the next county, our outlet is only 50m away!

p.s. the county boundary is 50m away in the other direction...

local to me is one bee flight distance i.e. 4km. Its only local if you could meet the producer(the bee) on its way to work outside the shop door

Mine would be in a different country......maybe I should label it two country honey!

 

[Nige.Coll]

I had a conversation with a shop owner selling local honey from 20 miles away.
They said it was local i suggested they walk there if it was local. They declined as it was too far lol.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Our Farmers' Market has a local producer defined as one within 20 miles of the town.
I agree with others. Prominent sign (get a correx printed one or a banner .....cheap enough) next year saying "X Trust Orchard Honey"

 

[Sean.]

Our Farmers' Market has a local producer defined as one within 20 miles of the town.
I agree with others. Prominent sign (get a correx printed one or a banner .....cheap enough) next year saying "X Trust Orchard Honey"

I think it's an interesting one. As certain things can be within a 20 mile radius, that gives a 20 miles in either direction to work with. My honey I sell at a friend’s farm shop is local, the hives are there and anyone can go and see them if they wish. I say on the label where it's from, and if people ask the area I can say what farm the hives were on.

I'd say local is less than 10 miles, as I live in the countryside I have to travel a little to get to places.

 

[wessexmario]

many people who buy honey for the benefit of preventing or reducing their or their children's sensitivity to hayfever would expect "local honey" to have been made within the local pollen spread / gathering area.
On that definition, 30 miles would seem a little far.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Our Farmers' Market has a local producer defined as one within 20 miles of the town.

One of our Farmers' Markets says products can be from anywhere within the county, another says products have to be produced within the district council's administrative area.

 

[dpearce4]

the National farmers retail and markets Association (the people who regulate most framers markets) say this:-

1. Locally produced

To reach FARMA standards, your market must define an area as local from within which the majority of your producers will travel to sell at you market. The area that you define as local is important for public perception of 'local food'.

There are two types of local definition that FARMA recognises:

Local as a radius

•Local is a defined as a radius from the market. A definition of 30 miles is ideal, up to 50 miles is acceptable for larger cities and coastal or remote towns and villages.


Local as a county boundary

•The definition of local may also be a county boundary or other geographic boundary such as a National park that is similar in size to the radius option.


Difficult to source produce:

Producers from further afield may attend the market if there is no suitable local producer of a given product. Markets that accept producers from beyond their definition of local should include a clause that states "preference will be given to the most local producer when a space becomes available at the market, without compromising quality".

Maximum distance:

If producers from beyond the area you define as local are permitted to attend your market/s it is recommended that a maximum distance of 100 miles of the market is stated

 

[MuswellMetro]

the National farmers retail and markets Association (the people who regulate most framers markets) say this:-

1. Locally produced

To reach FARMA standards, your market must define an area as local from within which the majority of your producers will travel to sell at you market. The area that you define as local is important for public perception of 'local food'.

There are two types of local definition that FARMA recognises:

Local as a radius

•Local is a defined as a radius from the market. A definition of 30 miles is ideal, up to 50 miles is acceptable for larger cities and coastal or remote towns and villages.


Local as a county boundary

•The definition of local may also be a county boundary or other geographic boundary such as a National park that is similar in size to the radius option.


Difficult to source produce:

Producers from further afield may attend the market if there is no suitable local producer of a given product. Markets that accept producers from beyond their definition of local should include a clause that states "preference will be given to the most local producer when a space becomes available at the market, without compromising quality".

Maximum distance:

If producers from beyond the area you define as local are permitted to attend your market/s it is recommended that a maximum distance of 100 miles of the market is stated

thanks, very intersting

 

[dpearce4]

useful websites

http://www.farma.org.uk/

https://www.gov.uk/farm-shops-and-farmers-markets

http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/20/12/2005/91447/so-you-want-to.-sell-produce-at-a-farmers-market.htm

 

[Tom Bick]

In Richmond Park West London they have hives and the honey is transported to be processed if memory serves me right Devon either way it's a long way away. The honey is returned to be sold in and around Richmond Park with all the correct information on the label including the address where the honey was processed!!!