You DON'T need a lot number if you only use a full Best Before date I.E. Best Before: 30-Sept 2015, but if you use a Best Before END then only the month and year is required Plus a lot number.
Not quite. Many "guides" fail to reference the original legislation and official government publications, including the BBKA who should know better. So a lot of this almost-but-not-quite-accurate stuff gets repeated.
"The Food (Lot Marking) Regulations 1996"
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/1502/made covers the need to mark the lot number. There are exceptions but they don’t apply to a jar of honey, e.g. small containers or packing in front of the purchaser. There is another exception, in para 4(g), that the durability date is an acceptable substitute for the lot mark if it names the day and month.
The FLMR guidance notes expand on the use of a durability date as lot mark: :
http://www.food.gov.uk/scotland/regsscotland/regsguidscot/foodlotmarkguid ("The Regulations apply in England, Scotland and Wales. A separate but similar law applies in Northern Ireland.")
"Best before end" dates are acceptable as lot marks as the indication of the day and month (as required by the Regulations) is implicit (eg "best before end October 1997" means best before 31 October 1997).
Using "End" does not determine whether you need a lot mark. The risk is that all production for that month has the same implied lot number so could be recalled. A “Best Before End 2015” would extend that to the whole year.
Correct unless a third party sells for you.
Another misinterpretation that is often repeated. Lot marking applies to jars of honey wherever it is sold and whoever is selling them.
It could be that some "guides" are misquoting exceptions to the need for "Country of origin" when you sell "honey harvested at home and sold at the home, farmgate or in market stalls". This is detailed in “Honey Regulations 2003 Guidance Notes (Version 2, July 2005 amended October 2007)” from the Food Standards Agency (FSA):
http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/honeyguidance.pdf. This official guide has nothing to say about "country of origin" when selling cooperatively. e.g. from an association stall so that is probably not exempt.
Any "guide", association notes or lecture that doesn't have a verifiable date and publication source for "rules" it asserts could be wrong and is always liable to be out of date.
Is it legit to buy labels in bulk and write the lot number on each label by hand?
I am thinking along the lines of printing Lot No. 13/ then writing 1,2,3 etc after the /
There is nothing to say the lot number cannot be written in, labels are covered in "The Food Labelling Regulations 1996
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/1499/contents/made
The FLR states the basics; that labels must be "easy to understand, clearly legible and indelible and marked in a conspicuous place in such a way as to be easily visible." and "shall not in any way be hidden, obscured or interrupted by any other written or pictorial matter". Nothing that says labels cannot be hand written.