Honey Quality & Intl Regu.standards

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Honey Quality and International Regulatory Standards

Review by the International Honey Commission

Key words: honey, quality, standard, norm, Codex Alimentarius, EU

Stefan Bogdanov (chairman, Switzerland), Cord Lllmann (vice-chairman, Germany), Peter Martin

(secretary, UK), Werner von der Ohe4, Harald Russmann, Gnther Vorwohl (Germany); LiviaPersano Oddo, Anna-Gloria Sabatini, Gian Luigi Marcazzan, Roberto Piro, (Italy); Christian Flamini,

Monique Morlot, Joel Lhritier, Raymond Borneck (France); Panagyotis Marioleas, AngelicaTsigouri (Greece); Jacob Kerkvliet (Netherlands), Alberto Ortiz (Spain), Tzeko Ivanov (Bulgaria),

Bruce DArcy, Brenda Mossel (Australia) and Patricia Vit (Venezuela))

1. Bee Department, Federal Dairy Institue, Liebefeld, 3003 Bern, Switzerland, [email protected],corresponding author2. Institut fr Honiganalysen, Flughafendamm 9 a, 28199 Bremen, Germany, [email protected]. Orchard Cottage, Crazies Hill, Reading RG10 8LU, United Kingdom, [email protected]. Landesinstitut fr Bienenforschung Wehlstr. 4 a, 29221 Celle, [email protected]

Internationalhoneystandards are specified in a EuropeanHoneyDirective and in theCodex AlimentariusStandardforHoney, both of which are presently under revision.In this paper the present knowledge on the different quality criteria is reviewed. Thestandarddrafts, mentioned above include standards and methods for the

determination of the following quality factors: moisture, ash, acidity,hydroxymethylfurfural, apparent reducing sugars, apparent sucrose, diastase activityand water-insoluble matter. However, during the last 30 years there are very fewpublished works on reducing sugars and ash content ofhoney. Instead, specificsugars and electrical conductivity are mostly used. Based on this data, internationalhoneystandards for the sum of fructose and glucose content, the sucrose contentand electrical conductivity are proposed. Besides, the use of other quality factors,like invertase activity, proline and specific rotation, additionally used in manycountries, is also discussed.

Honey quality criteria are specified in a European Directive (1) and in the CodexAlimentariusstandard (2), both presently under revision (3,4). The authors of this revieware members of the International Honey Commission (IHC), which was formed in 1990 to

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revise the methods and standards for honey. The commission compiled the methods ofanalysis currently used in routine honey control and carried out ring trials in collaborationwith the honey commission of the Swiss Food Manual (SFM). The methods were firstpublished in the SFM (5) and then in a slightly modified form elsewhere (6). This work of thecommission was chaired by Stefan Bogdanov. Presently, the IHC deals with compositionalcriterea for unifloral honeys under the chairmanship of Werner von der Ohe.

As new, better and faster analytical methods are available nowadays, introduction of newnorms, using these new methods is necessary. In recent publication we reviewedextensively the specific sugar content and the electrical conductivity of honey, as well asand the methods, used for the determination of honey quality (7). In this work we focus ourdiscussions on the standard drafts of the Codex Alimentariusand of the EU. In general, theCodex AlimentariusStandard is valid for honey trade in the whole world, while otherregional norms, as the European Honey Regulation, can also be established, if there areregional quality requirements, differing from the Codex Alimentrius.

Drafts for Codex Alimentariusand EU honey standards

The last draft for Codex AlimentariusHoneyStandard is given in full in the appendix below.If adopted, this standard should be applied by the governments in honey trade all over theworld. On the other hand, the specific compositional criteria, given in table one are intendedfor voluntary acceptance by the honey trade partners.

Are there differences between the Codexand the EU Standards?

The proposed draft for a honeystandard in the EU is very similar to the Codexstandard,

but it contains fewer specific details. Contrary to the EU draft, in the Codexdraft there arespecific paragraphs, dealing with contamination, hygiene and sugar adulteration, all of thesebeing important quality factors nowadays. On the other hand, there is an important point,contained in the EU standard, but lacking the Codexdraft. Thus only the EU proposalcontains a definition of "industrial" or "bakery"-honey:

"Honey, which is convenient for human consumption, but which can have unspecific taste orodour, be fermented, was overheated or which has a lower diastase activity or higherhydroxymethylfurfural content than prescribed in the norm".

A paragraph for a honey quality is necessary, as honey for industrial use is often sterilized

because of hygienic reasons.

Another important point is the question of honey pollen. The European draft states, that noessential honey components can be removed from honey, while the Codexparagraph 3.2says, that honey should not be processed to such an extent, as to change its essentialcomposition (see also Appendix). Both statements are ambiguous. There could be differentinterpretations as to the question, whether honey pollen is an essential honey component.While from nutritional point a view it is of no importance, as honey pollen content is lessthan 0.01 % of the total, it is important for the determination of the botanical and thegeographical origin of honey. Also, honeys is used in some cases for pollen desensitisation,due to its low pollen content. The argument of the honey industry is, that a fine filtration is

often necessary for the removal of small foreign particles, impeding honey quality. On theother hand, paragraph 6.1.7. of the Codexsays, that honey, subjected to a fine filtrationprocess to improve its clarity should bear a label to inform the consumer about this process.The best solution would be to include a paragraph, stating, that honey should be filtered




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with filters with a mesh-size, not smaller than 0.2 mm, which will keep the pollen in thehoney, but will remove most of the honey impurities. Different European beekeepingfederations prescribe the use of such filters for their honey regulations.

Moisture content

The moisture content is the only composition criteria, which as a part of the HoneyStandard has to be fulfilled in world honey trade. Honey having a high water content ismore likely to ferment. A maximum value of 21 g/100g is suggested in the draft for a newstandard. The exception for clover honey is not justified by measurements during recentyears. Accordingly, the maximum water content for clover honey should also be 21 g/ 100g.In practice, values as high as 21 g/100 g are very seldom attained. In routine honey controlcarried out by the IHA during the years 1989-97 on ca. 30,000 honey samples 91-95 % ofall honeys had a water content of less than 20 g/100g (8) Also in Switzerland a standard of20 g/100 g was successfully used in the past 20 years, until the last revision of the SwissFood Ordinance, where the European Union maximum value of 21 g/100 g had to beaccepted. Many national beekeeping organisations (e.g. Germany, Belgium, Austria, Italy,Switzerland, Spain or others ?) have moisture content maximum values of 17.5 to 18.5g/100 g for special classes of quality honey.

Specific quality criteria

Table 1 summarises the composition criteria of the EU and the Codexdrafts. According toCodex Alimentariusthese quality standards are not compulsory for governments and can bevoluntarily agreed upon, while according to the EU draft they have to be fulfilled by allcommercial retail honeys. As it can be seen, there are only minor differences in both draftsand they both do not contain such important quality criteria as the specific sugar content and

electrical conductivity (see Proposal for a New HoneyStandard).

Apparent sugar content

In most blossom honeys apparent reducing sugars" represent the great majority of honeysugars, but in honeydew honeys, the situation is often very different. Indeed, manyhoneydew honeys have high amounts of non-reducing oligosaccharides such as melezitose,maltotriose and raffinose. Because of these findings, the standard for apparent sugars hasbeen modified in the Codexdraft, compared with the previous standard: a minimum of 45g/100 g has been proposed, compared to the old standard with a minimum of 60 g/100 g.The European draft keeps the old norm of 60 g/100g. "Apparent sucrose" is measured

indirectly as the difference between total and reducing sugars and can often be differentfrom true sucrose. Here both drafts are similar, the Codexdraft including more honey typesthan the European one. The IHC proposes, that an exception for the apparent sucrosecontent of rosemary honey be made. Indeed, measurements of 33 Spanish rosemaryhoneys showed, that a significant portion of these honeys had more than 5 % apparentsucrose.

The measurement of reducing sugars detects only the difference between blossom andhoneydew honeys, but this difference can be determined much easier by other methods,e.g. by electrical conductivity determination. There are many arguments for replacing themeasurement of the reducing sugars with that of specific sugars (see next section).

Water insoluble solids content




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The measurement of insoluble matter is an important means to detect honey impurities thatare higher than the permitted maxima. It was set in the times, when a significant portion ofworld honey was harvested by pressing the combs. However, nowadays almost allcommercial honey is harvested by centrifugation. It seems to us that the permittedmaximum in the Codexand European standards of 0.1 g/100 g is too high. Mostly lowervalues, in the range of 0.005 to 0.05 g/ 100 g are found. Wax, which is not determined bythe Codexmethod, is a major source of water-insoluble contamination. For this purposeother filtration technique can be used, e.g. with paper filter, but such a method has not beenofficially proposed yet.

Mineral content (ash)

The ash content is a quality criterion for honey botanical origin, the blossom honeys havinga lower ash content than honeydew honeys (9). At present, this measurement is generallyreplaced by the measurement of electrical conductivity. The ash content could be kept as aquality factor during a transition period, until conductivity is accepted as a world-widestandard.

Acidity

Acidity is an important quality criteria. Honey fermentation causes an increase of acidity andbecause of this a maximum acidity value has proven useful, although there is a considerablenatural variation. The old standard fixed a maximum of 40 milliequivalents/kg, which hasbeen increased to 50 milliequivalents/kg in the Codexdraft, as there are some honeys,which have a higher natural acidity (10).

Diastase Activity

Honey diastase activity is a quality factor, influenced by honey storage and heating andthus an indicator of honey freshness and overheating. Although there is a large naturalvariation of diastase, the present standard of a minimum DN value of 8 has proven to beuseful. In long-term routine honey control at the IHA more than 92 % of the raw honeysamples (n = ca. 20,000) and more than 88 % of the retail honey samples (n = ca. 1000)had a DN greater than 8 (8). When interpreting diastase results one should take intoconsideration that certain unifloral honeys have a naturally low diastatic activity. Althoughthe minimal requirements for diastase activity in the Codexand the EU drafts are the same,in practice there is an important difference between the two: while the Codexnorm refers tohoney after processing and blending, the EU norm is valid for the whole retail honey. Inreality this means that the EU norm is more severe than the Codexnorm, as diastase

activity is expected to diminish upon storage.

Hydroxymethylfurfural content

This major honey quality factor is an indicator of honey freshness and overheating. In freshhoneys there is practically no hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), but it increases upon storage,depending on the pH of honey and on the storage temperature. Some European beefederations (Germany, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Spain) market a part of their honey as "qualityhoney", having a maximum of 15 mg/kg. In international trade, a maximum value of 40mg/kg has proven satisfactory. In long term routine honey control at the IHA during the last10 years, more than 90 % of the raw honey samples (n = 30,000) and more than 85 % of

the retail honey samples (n = 2000) had less than 30 mg HMF/kg (8). The Codexproposalis a maximum of 60 mg/kg. The proposal for a higher maximum value is based on theexperience that HMF increases on honey storage in warm climate countries. The latest EU




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standard proposal demands a maximum of 40 mg/kg, as under European conditions thisstandard has proven to be valid. Here too, as in the case with diastase, there is animportant difference between the two norms: while the Codexnorm refers to honey afterprocessing and blending, the EU norm is valid for the whole retail honey. In reality thismeans that the EU norm is much more severe than the Codexnorm, as HMF is expected toincrease upon storage.

Proposal for a new international standard

Electrical conductivity

Conductivity is a good criterion of the botanical origin of honey and today it is determined inroutine honey control instead of the ash content. This measurement depends on the ashand acid content of honey; the higher their content , the higher the resulting conductivity (9).There is a linear relationship between the ash content and the electrical conductivity (11):

C = 0.14 + 1.74 A

where C is the electrical conductivity in milli Siemens cm-1 and A the ash content in g/100 g.

Extensive conductivity data on thousands of commercial honeys has been recentlypublished (7).Based on this data we propose that blossom honeys, mixtures of blossom andhoneydew honeys should have less than 0.8 mS/cm and honeydew and chestnut honeysshould have more than 0.8 mS/cm (see table 2). Exceptions are Arbutus, Banksia, Erica,Leptospermum, Melaleuca, Eucalyptusand Tiliahoneys as well as their blends, having anextremely high variation in their conductivity (7).

The conductivity measurement is easy and fast and needs only inexpensive instrumentation.It is very widely used for discrimination between honeydew and blossom honeys and also forthe characterisation of unifloral honeys. Thus an introduction of an international conductivitystandard is recommended as urgent.

Specific sugar content

Based on the extensive data, that we published recently (7) , a general standard for aminimum content of the sum of fructose and glucose of 60 g/100 g for all blossom honeysand 45 g/100 g for all honeydew honeys can be proposed (table 5). This standard could befulfilled in more than 99 % of the analysed honeys. For sucrose the situation is more

complex. Here the general standard of 5 g/100 g could be fulfilled in more than 99 % of theanalysed honeys, with the exception of some unifloral honeys like Banskia, Citrus,Hedysarum, ;Medicagoand Robiniahoneyswith up to 10 g/100 g and Lavandulahoneyswith up to 15 g/100 g sucrose. The sum of the fructose and glucose content is very close tothe sum of all reducing sugars, as fructose and glucose represent mostly more than 90 % ofall reducing sugars. Indeed, the proposed minimum standard for the sum of glucose andfructose of 45 and 60 g/100 g for honeydew and blossom honeys is almost identical to theproposed standards for apparent reducing sugars of 45 and 65 g/100 g respectively. On theother hand, the proposed standard for true sucrose is very similar to the one for apparentsucrose (table 2). Exceptions are differences for honeydew honeys, where the "apparentsucrose standard" is 15 g/100 g, while the specific sucrose standards is only 5 g/100 g and

for some Australian and New Zealand honeys, which figure in the standard for reducingsugars (table 2), but not in the proposed standard for specific sugars (table 5) as no specificsugar data is available for these honeys.




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The introduction of a standard for specific sugar contents will have other positiveconsequences for routine honey control. Thus, the fructose/glucose ratio and the sucroseconcentrations are good criteria for differentiating between different unifloral honeys. Also,the content of different higher sugars as melezitose, maltotriose are good indicator of thehoneydew content of honey. The specific sugar spectrum yields also information on honeyauthenticity and sugar adulteration.

Additional quality factors outside the standards

There are some useful quality criteria, used for the determination of honey quality outsidethe international honey regulations.

Invertase activity

Invertase activity is particularly sensitive to heat and storage damage and is used as afreshness indicator. It was proposed that fresh and unheated honeys should have an

invertase number (IN) more than 10; for honeys with low enzymatic activity a IN of morethan 4 is recommended (12). Although, like honey diastase, the activity of invertase has agreat natural variation (13) its use has been proven in honey quality control. A freshnessinvertase standard is also used in the honey standards of the beekeepers associations ofGermany, Belgium and Spain.

Proline content

The honey proline content is a criterion of honey ripeness and in some cases, also of sugaradulteration (14). A minimum value for genuine honey of 180 mg/kg is accepted in honeycontrol laboratories. However, it should be taken into account that there is considerable

proline variation, depending on the honey type (15).

Specific rotation

The overall value for the optical rotation is a resultant of the values of the different honeysugars. The measurement of specific rotation is currently used in Greece; Italy and UK todistinguish between blossom and honeydew honeys. In Italy it was found that blossomhoneys (16,17) have negative values of optical rotation, while honeydew honeys have apositive one (16). Whether this method is capable of differentiating these honeys in othergeographic regions remains to be examined in future studies.

Conclusions

The present review summarises the present state of knowledge on the quality factors, whichshould be used in the international honey regulations for the determination of honey quality.As these quality factors are valid all over the world, it is not possible that they satisfy thequality standards of all countries. Some criteria, which are valid only in separate countriescan be specified. Also, some European beekeepers associations specify more severequality criteria for the honey sold under their label than the ones valid for general retailhoney. For instance, maximum values of 17.5 -18.5 % for humidity and 15 mg/kg forhydroxymethylfufural content and a minimum value of 10 invertase number units are

specified.

Apart from the composition criteria, discussed in this review, specialised honey laboratories




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use also a number of other quality criteria to determine the botanical and geographicalorigin of honey, especially the characterisation of unifloral honeys. In its further work theIHC is going to compile and harmonise the methods and criteria, used for this purpose.Indeed, up to now chemical quality criteria for unifloral honeys are valid only in separatecountries, but they are not officially recognised in the international honey trade.

REFERENCES

1. Council Directiveof 22 July 1974 on the harmonization of the laws of the MemberStates relating to honey, 74/409/EEC, Official Journal of the European Communities,No L 221/14 1974.

2. Codex AlimentariusStandardforHoney, Ref. Nr. CL 1993/14-SH FAO and WHO,Rome 1993.

3. Proposal for a directive of the European council relating tohoney, EU document

96/0114, 1996.4. Codex Alimentarius draft revised forhoneyat step 6 of the Codex Procedure. CX5/10.2, CL 1998/12-S 1998.

5. Swiss Food Manual, (Schweizerisches Lebensmittelbuch) Chapter 23 A: Honey. Eidg.Drucksachen und Materialzentralle, Bern 1995.

6. Bogdanov S., Martin P. and Lllmann C.: Harmonised methods of the Europeanhoney commission. Apidologie (extra issue) 1-59 (1997).

7. Bogdanov, S. et al.Honey Quality and International Regulatory Standards: Review ofthe Work of the International Honey Commission. Mitt. Gebiete Lebensm. Hyg., 90,108-125

8. Lllmann, C.: Annual Reports of the Institute for Honey Analysis (1989-1997).9. Vorwohl, G.:Die Beziehung zwischen der elektrischen Leitfhigkeit der Honige und

ihrer trachtmssigen Herkunft. In: Ann. de Abeille 7, 301-309 (1964).10. Horn, H. und Lllmann, C.: Das grosse Honigbuch, Ehrenwirth, Mnchen 1992.11. Piazza, M.G., Accorti, M. e Persano Oddo, L.:Electrical conductivity, ash, colour and

specific rotatory power in Italian unifloral honeys. Apicoltura 7, 51-63 (1991).12. Duisberg, H. und Hadorn, H.:Welche Anforderungen sind an Handelshonige zu

stellen? Mitt. Gebiete Lebensm. Hyg. 57, 386-407 (1966).13. Persano Oddo, L., Piazza, M. and Pulcini, P.:The invertase activity of honey,

Apidologie 30, 57-66, 199914. Von der Ohe, W., Dustmann, J. H., und von der Ohe, K.:Prolin als Kriterium der Reife

des Honigs. Dtsch. Lebensm. Rundsch. 87, 383-386 (1991).15. Bosi, G. and Battaglini, M.,:Gas chromatographic analysis of free and protein amino

acids in some unifloral honeys. J. Apicult. Res. 17, 152-166 (1978).16. Persano Oddo, L., Piazza, M. G., Sabatini, A. G. and Accorti, M.: Characterization of

unifloral honeys. Apidologie 26, 453-465 (1995).17. Battaglini, M. e Bosi, G.: Caratterizzazione chimico-fisica dei mieli monoflora sulla

base dello spettro glucidico e del potere rotatorio specifico. - Scienza e tecnologiadegli Alimenti 3, 217-221 (1973).

Corresponding author:

Dr. Stefan Bogdanov, Bee Department, Federal Dairy Research Institute, 3003 Bern,Switzerland




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E-mail: [email protected]

Appendix

Codex Alimentarius: DRAFT REVISED STANDARD FOR HONEY

at Step 6 of the Codex Procedure

1. SCOPE

1.1 This Standard applies to all honeys produced by honey bees and covers all styles ofhoney presentations which are processed and ultimately intended for direct consumption. Itdoes not cover industrial honey or honey used as an ingredient in other foods.

1.2 The Standard also covers honey which is packed/or sale in bulk containers, whichintended for repacking into retail packs.

2. DESCRIPTION

2.1 Definition

Honey is the natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from nectar of plants orfrom secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the livingpans of plants, which honey bees collect, transform by combining with specific substancesof their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in the honey comb to ripen and mature.

2.1.1 Blossom Honev or Nectar Honev is the honey which comes from nectars of plants.

2.1.2 Honevdew Honev is the honey which comes mainly from excretions of plant suckinginsects (Hemiptera) on the living parts of plants or secretions of living parts of plants.

2.2 Description

Honey consists essentially of different sugars, predominantly fructose and glucose as wellas other substances such as organic acids, enzymes and solid particles derived from honeycollection. The colour of honey varies from nearly colourless to dark brown. The consistency

can be fluid, viscous or , partly to entirely crystallised. The flavour and aroma vary, but arederived from the plant origin.

3. ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS

3.1 Honey sold as such shall not have added to it any food ingredient, including foodadditives, or other substance foreign to honey. Honey shall not have any objectionablematter, flavour, aroma, or taint absorbed from foreign matter during its processing andstorage. The honey shall not have begun to ferment or effervesce.

3.2 Honey shall not be heated or processed to such an extent that its essential composition

is changed and/or its quality is impaired.

3.3 Chemical or biochemical treatments shall not be used to influence honey crystallisation.




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3.4 Moisture Content

(a) Honeys not listed below - not more than 21%

(b) Heather honey(Calluna) -not more than 23%

(c) Cloverhoney(Trifolium) - not more than 23%

4.CONTAMINANTS

The following provisions in respect of contaminants, other than pesticide residues aresubject to endorsement by the CodexCommittee on Food Additives and Contaminants.

4.1 Heavy Metals

Honey shall be free from heavy metals in amounts which may represent a hazard to humanhealth.

4.2 Pesticide Residues

The products covered by this standard shall comply with those maximum residue limits forhoney established by the Codex AlimentariusCommission.

5. HYGIENE'

The following provisions in respect of food hygiene of this product are subject toendorsement by the CodexCommittee on Food Hygiene.

5.1 It is recommended that the products covered by the provisions of this standard beprepared and handled in accordance with the appropriate sections of the RecommendedInternationalCode of Practice - General Principles of Food Hygiene recommended by theCodex AlimentariusCommission (CAC/RCP 1-1969, Rev 3-1997), and other Codes ofPractice recommended by the Codex AlimentariusCommission which are relevant to theseproducts.

5.2 To the extent possible in good manufacturing practice, the honey when sold as such tothe final consumer shall be free from objectionable organic and inorganic matter such asinsects, insect debris, brood or grains of sand.

5.3 When tested by appropriate methods of sampling and examination, the product:

(a) shall be free from microorganisms in amounts which may represent a hazard to health;

(b) shall be free from parasites which may represent a hazard to health; and

(c) shall not contain any substance originating from microorganisms and plants in amountswhich may represent a hazard to health.

6. LABELLING

In addition to the provisions of the General Standard for the Labelling of Pre-packagedFoods (CODEXSTAN 1-1985), the following specific provisions apply:

6.1 The Name of the Food




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6.1.1 Products conforming to the standard shall be designated 'honey'.

6.1.2 For products described in 2.1.1 the name of the food may be supplemented by theterm "blossom " or "nectar".

6.1.3Products described in 2.1.2 the name of the food shall be in close proximityto theword "honeydew".

6.1.4 Honey may be designated by the name of the geographical or topographical region ifthe honey was produced exclusively within the area referred to in the designation.

6.1.5 Honey may be designated according to floral or plant source if it comes wholly ormainly from that particular source and has the organoleptic, physicochemical andmicroscopic properties corresponding with that origin.

6.1.6 Where honey has been designated according to floral or plant source (6.1.5) then thecommon name or the botanical nameof the floral source shall be in close proximity to theword "honey".

6.7.7 Honey which has been subjected to a fine filtration process to improve its clarity- shallbear a description to inform the consumer of this process. _The subsidiary designationslisted in 6.1.8 may not be used unless the honey conforms to the appropriate descriptioncontained therein. The styles in 6.1.9 (b) and (c) shall be declared.

6.1.8Honey may be designated according to the method of removal from the comb.

(a) Extracted Honev is honey only obtained by centrifuging decapped broodless combs withor without the application of moderate heat.

(b) Pressed Honey is honey obtained by pressing broodless combs with or without theapplication of moderate heat.

(c) Drained Honev is honey obtained by draining decapped broodless combs with or withoutthe application of moderate heat.

6.1.9Honey may be designated according to the following styles:

(a) Honev which is honey in liquid or crystalline state or a mixture of the two;

(b) Comb Honevwhich is honey stored by bees in the cells of freshly built broodless combsand which is sold in sealed whole combs or sections of such combs;

(c) Honev with comb which is honey containing one or more pieces of comb honey;

6.2 Labelling of Non-Retail Containers

6.2.1 Information on labelling as specified in The General Standard for the Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods and in Section 6.1 shall be given either on the container or inaccompanying documents, except that the name of the product, lot identification and thename and address of the manufacturer or packer shall appear on the container.

Table 1 Honey Quality Standard according to the draft CL 1998/12-S of the CodexAlimentariusand to the Darft 96/0114 (CNS) of the EU




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* - the European draft refers to honeydew honey and mixtures of honeydew and blossomhoney, acacia, Banksiaand Citrushoneys

** - The IHC proposes also that Rosemarinusbe included in this list (see text)

Quality Criteria Codexdraft EU draft

Moisture Content

general

heather, clover

Industrial or bake-honey

21 g/100g

23 g/100g

25 g/100g

21 g/100g

23 g/100g

25 g/100g

Apparent Reducing Sugars Content

Honeys not listed below

honeydew honey or blends of honeydew honey andblossom honey

Xanthorrhoea pr.

65 g /100 g

45 g /100 g

53 g /100 g

65 g /100 g

60 g /100 g

53 g /100 g

Apparent Sucrose content

Honeys not listed below

Robinia , Lavandula, Hedysarum, Trifolium, Citrus,

Medicago,

Eucalyptus cam., Eucryphia luc. Banksia menz.*Rosemarinus**

Calothamnus san., Eucalyptus scab., Banksia gr.,Xanthorrhoeapr., honeydew honey and blends of blossomwith honeydew honey

5 g/100 g

10 g/100 g

15 g/100 g

5 g/100 g

10 g/100 g

-

Water-Insoluble Solids Content

general

pressed honey

0.1 g/100 g

0.5 g/100 g

0.1 g/100 g

0.5 g/100 g

Mineral Content (ash)

general

honeydew or blends of honeydew and blossom honey orchestnut honey

0.6 g/100 g

1.2 g/100 g

0.6 g/100 g

1.2 g/100 g

Acidity 50 meq/kg 40 meq/kg

Diastase Activity (diastase number in Schade scale)

after processing and blending (Codex) 8 8




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Table 2. Sugar content and electrical conductivity: proposal for a new honey standard

general for all retail honey (EU)

honeys with natural low enzyme content

3 3

Hydroxymethylfurfural Content

after processing and/or blending (Codex)

for all retail honey (EU)

60 mg/kg 40 mg/kg

Suggested New Quality Criteria proposed Value

Sugar Content

Sum of fructose and glucose

blossom honeys

honeydew honey or blends of honeydew honey and blossom honey

Sucrose

honeys not listed below

Banksia, Citrus, Hedysarum, Medicago, Robinia. Rosemarinus

Lavandula

60 g /

100 g 45 g /100 g

5 g/ 100g

10 g/ 100g

15 g/ 100g

Electrical Conductivity

Blossom honeys excepted the honeys listed below and blends with them;blends of honeydew and blossom honey

Honeydew and chestnut honey, excepted the honeys listed below and blends

with those

Exceptions: Arbutus, Banksia, Erica, Eucalyptus, Eucryphia, Leptospermum,Melaleuca, Tilia.

0.8mS/cm

0.8mS/cm

Realization: Gilles RATIALast update: 10/08/01APISERVICES - Copyright 1995-2001

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