Honey ─ Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Note: This is a draft Malawi standard  and shall neither be regarded nor used as a Malawi standard  
 
Published by  
MALAWI STANDARDS BOARD  ICS 67.180.10             DMS 366:2021  
Second  edition  
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT MALAWI STANDARD  
COMESA /SADC  HARMONISED  
 
 
 ICS 67.180.10            DMS 366:2021  
Second edition  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Honey ─ Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Obtainable from the  
Malawi Bureau of Standards  
P O Box 946  
BLANTYRE  
 
Tel:  +265 1 870 488  
Fax :  +265 1 870 756  
E-mail :  mbs@mbsmw.org  
Web -site : www.mbsmw.org  
 
 
Price based on 9 pages  
© Copyright reserved   
 i TABLE OF CONTENTS  
 
Contents  Page  
 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................... …i 
Technical committee  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ …i 
Scope   ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................    1 
Normative reference   ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......   1 
Terms and d efinitions   ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....   1 
Essential composition and Quality factors   ................................ ................................ ................................ .....   2 
Contaminants   ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................     4 
Hygiene   ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........................    4 
Packaging and labeling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..   4 
Sampling and method of test   ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................    6 
Annex A: Sampling of honey   ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................    7 
 
 
FOREWORD  
 
This draft Malawi standard  has been prepared by MBS/TC 70 , the Technical Committee on Apiculture products 
to provide requirements for Honey.  
 
This draft Malawi standard  is the first revision of MS 366:2010. This draft Malawi standard  is technically 
equivalent to the  COMESA harmonized standard  and SADC harmonized standard SADC HT: 108:2022  based 
on Codex Standard, CXS: 12-1981, ( Rev.1 (1987), Rev.2 (2001) , Standard  for Honey.  
 
Acknowledgement is made for the use of the information.  
 
 
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE  
 
This draft Malawi standard was prepared by MBS/TC 7 0, the Technical Committee  on Apiculture products  and 
the following organisations a nd institutions were consulted : 
 
Blantyre District Health Office ; 
Bvumbwe Agriculture Research Station ; 
Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resouces;  
Malawi University of Business Studies and Applied Sciences;  
Ministry of Industry ; 
Mzuzu Coffee ; 
Natural Herbal Foods;  
Nyika honey ;  
Peoples Trading Centre ; 
Shoprite tradingConsu mer Association of Malawi;  
Small and Medium Enterpri se Development Institute;  
Tapika food products . 
 
NOTICE  
 
This standard shall be reviewed every five years, or earlier when it is necessary, in order to keep abreast of 
progress. Comments are welcome and shall be considered when the standard is being reviewed 
1 
 DMS 366:2021  
DRAFT MALAWI STANDARD  
 
Honey ─ Specification  
 
1 SCOPE  
 
This draft Malawi standard  applies to all honeys produced by honey bees  and covers all styles of honey 
presentations, which are processed and ultimately intended for direct consumption.  It also applies to honey 
used as an ingredient in other foods and honey, which is packed for sale in bulk containers, which may be 
repacked into retail packs.  
 
 
2 NORMATIVE REFERENCE S 
 
The following standards contain provisions, which through reference in this text, constitute provisions of this 
standard. All standards are subject to revision and since any reference to a standard is deemed to be a 
reference to the latest edition of that standard, parties to agreements based on this standard are encouraged 
to take steps to ensure the use of the most recent edition of the standard indicated below. Information on 
current valid national and interna tional standards can be obtained from the Malawi Bureau of Standards.  
 
MS 19 : Labeling of prepacked foods – General standard;  
 
MS 21 : Code of hygienic conditions for food and food processing units;  
 
MS 302 : Contaminants and toxins in foods – General standard;  
 
MS 801 : Honey  ̶  Methods of test;  
 
AOAC Official Method 977.26: Clostridium botulinum and its toxins in foods. Microbiological m ethod ; 
 
ISO 6579 -1: Microbiology of the food chain – Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and serotyping 
of Sa lmonella – Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp;   
 
ISO 7251: Microbiology of f ood and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the detection and 
enumeration of  presumptive Escherichia coli – Most probable number technique ; 
 
ISO 7937: Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
Clostridium perfringens – Colony -count technique ; and 
 
ISO 21527 -2: Microbiology of food and a nimal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the enu meration of yeasts 
and moulds – Part 2: Colony count technique in products with water a ctivity less than or equal to 0. 95. 
 
 
3 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS  
 
For the purpose of this draft Malawi standard,  the following terms and definitions shall apply:  
 
3.1 
honey  
the natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living 
parts of plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which the bees collect, 
transform by combining with specific substances of their o wn, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in the  honey 
comb to ripen and mature  
 
3.2  
blossom/nectar honey.  
honey, whic h comes from nectars of plants  
 
3.3  
honeydew honey  
honey the honey which comes mainly from excretions of plant sucking insects ( Hemiptera ) on the living parts 
of plants or secretions of living parts of plants   
2 
 3.4 
filtered honey  
honey which has been filtered in such a way as to result in the significant removal of pollen  
 
 
4 ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS  
 
4.1 Product description  
 
Honey consists essentially of different sugars, predominantly fructose and glucose as well as other substances 
such as organic acids, enzymes and solid particles derived from honey collection. The colour of honey varies 
from nearly colourless to dark brow n. The consistency can be fluid, viscous or partly to entirely crystallised. 
The flavour and aroma vary, but are derived from the plant origin.  
 
4.1 General requirements  
 
4.1.1  Honey sold as such shall not have added to it any food ingredient, including food a dditives, nor shall 
any other addi tions be made other than honey. Honey shall not have any objectionable matter, flavour, aroma, 
or taint absorbed from foreign matter during its production, harvesting, transportation, processing and storage. 
The honey shal l not have begun to ferment or effervesce.  
 
Note:  It is advisable to avoid installing beehives near industries handling sugar or sweet waste, since bees can bring back to the hive 
other sugars than those of nectar and honey dew.  
 
4.1.2  Honey shall not be heated or processed to such an extent that its essential composition is changed 
and/ or its quality is impaired.  
 
4.1.3  Chemical or biochemical treatments shall not be used to influence honey crystallisation.  
 
4.2 Organoleptic properties  
 
4.2.1  Colour  
 
The colour of honey varies from nearly colourless to dark brown. No objectionable taint.  
 
4.2.2  Consistency  
 
Fluid, viscous or partly to entirely crystallised. The honey shall not have begun to ferment or effervesce.  
 
4.2.3  Flavour  
 
The flavour  and aroma vary, but are derived from the plant origin. No objectionable flavour, aroma.  
 
4.2.4  Foreign matter  
 
Honey shall not have any foreign matter during its processing and storage.  
 
Note: No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic 
or organic.  
 
4.3 Specific requirements  
 
Honey shall conform to the chemical requirements prescribed in Table 1.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
3 
 Table 1: Compositional requirements for honey  
 
S/N 1 2 3 
 Parameter  Requirement  Test Method  
1 Moisture content   
MS 801  Honeys not listed below  not more than 20%  
Heather honey ( Calluna ) not more than 23%  
2 Sugar content   
MS 801  Fructose and Glucose Content 
(sum of both)   
a) Honey not listed below  not less than 60 g/100g  
b) Honeydew honey, blends of 
honeydew honey with blossom honey  not less than 45 g/100g  
Sucrose content   
a) Honey not listed below  not more than 5 g/100g  
b) Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ), Citrus 
spp., False Acacia ( Robinia 
pseudoacacia ), French Honeysuckle 
(Hedysarum ), Menzies Banksia 
(Banksia menziesii),  Red Gum 
(Eucalyptus camaldulensis ), 
Leatherwood ( Eucryphia lucida ), 
Eucryphia milligani  not more than 10 g/100g  
c) Lavender ( Lavandula spp ),Borage 
(Borago officinalis ) not more than 15 g/100g  
3 Water Insoluble Solids Content   
MS 801  Honeys other than pressed honey  not more than 0.1 g/100g  
Pressed honey  not more than 0.5  g/100g  
4 Free Acidity  not more than 50 
milliequivalents acid per 
1000g.  MS 801  
5 Diastase Activity   
MS 801  Honey after processing and/or 
blending  not less than 8 Schade units  
Honeys with a low natural enzyme 
content  not less than 3 Schade Units  
6 Hydroxymethylfurfural Content  not more than 40 mg/kg.  
MS 801  not more than 80 mg/kg.  
(for honey of declared origin 
from countries or  
regions with tropical ambient 
temperatures, and blends of 
these honeys)  
7 Electrical Conductivity   
MS 801  a) Honey not listed under (b) or (c), 
and blends of these honeys  not more than 0.8 mS/cm  
b) Honeydew and chestnut honey and 
blends of these except with those 
listed under (c)  not less than 0.8 mS/cm  
c) Exceptions: Strawberry tree 
(Arbutus unedo ), Bell Heather ( Erica ), 
Eucalyptus, Lime ( Tilia spp), Ling 
Heather ( Calluna vulgaris ) Manuka or 
Jelly bush ( Leptospermum ), Tea tree 
(Melaleuca spp ).  
 
4.4 Microbiological limits  
 
Honey shall comply with the microbiological limits given in Table 2.  
  
4 
 Table 2: Microbiological limits for honey  
 
S/N 1 2 3 
1 Characteristic  Limits per mℓ 
(except salmonella, 
per 25 mℓ)  Test method  
2 Yeast and moulds  < 500 cfu/g  ISO 21527 part 2  
3 Clostridium perfringes  0 ISO 7937  
4 Clostridium botulinum  0 AOAC 977.26  
5 Salmonella  spp. 0 ISO 6579 -1 
6 E.coli  Absent  ISO 7251  
 
4.5 Presentetion styles  
 
Honey may be presented as follows:  
 
a) Honey which is honey in liquid or crystalline state or a mixture of the two;  
 
b) Comb ho ney, which is honey, stored by bees in the cells of freshly built broodless combs and which 
is sold in sealed whole combs or sections of such combs;  
 
c) Chunk h oney, which is, honey containing one or more pieces of comb honey;  
 
d) Crystalled or granulated honey which is honey that has undergone a natural process of solidification 
as a result of glucose crystallization;  and 
 
e) Creamed (or creamy or set) honey is honey which has a fine crystalline structure and which may have 
undergone a physical process to give it that structure and to make it easy to spread.  
 
 
5 CONTAMINANTS  
 
5.1 Heavy metals  
 
Honey shall be free from heavy metals in amounts which may represent a hazard to human health. The 
products covered by this standard shall comply with those maximum levels for heavy metals prescribed in     
MS 302.  
 
5.2 Residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs  
 
The products covered by this standard shall comply with those maximum residue limits for honey established 
by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.  
 
Note: There should be residue monitoring plans that capture identified heavy metals, pesticides and vet erinary drugs.  
 
 
6 HYGIENE  
 
Products covered by the provisions of this standard shall be prepared and handled in accordance with the 
appropriate clauses of MS 21.  
 
 
7 PACKAGING AND LABELING  
 
7.1 Packaging  
 
7.1.1  Honey shall be packed in suitable food grade  containers having no action on the products. The 
containers shall be free from other products that may lead to contaminat ion of the product .   
5 
  
7.1.2 The containers shall be air tight and shall be provided with tamper -proof seals and closures. 
Provisions s hall be made to enable the consumer to reseal the container after use.  
 
7.2 Labeling  of retail containers  
 
In addition to the provisions of MS 19, the following specific provisions shall apply:  
 
7.2.1 Products conforming to this standard shall be designated ‘honey’.  
 
7.2.2 For products described in clause 3.2  the name of the food may be supplemented by the term 
“blossom” or “nectar”.  
 
7.2.3 For products described in clause 3.3 the word “honeydew” may be placed in close proximity to the 
name of the  food.  
 
7.2.4 For mixtures of the products described in clauses 3.2 and 3.3 the name of the food may be 
supplemented with the words “a blend of honeydew honey with blossom honey”.  
 
7.2.5 Honey may be designated by the name of the geographical or topographi cal region if the honey was 
produced exclusively within the area referred to in the designation.  
 
7.2.6 Honey may be designated according to floral or plant source if it comes wholly or mainly from that 
particular source and has the organoleptic, physicochemical and microscopic properties corresponding with 
that origin.  
 
7.2.7 Where honey has been designated according to floral or plant source (clause 7.2.1.6 ) then the 
common name or the botanical name of the floral source shall be in close proximi ty to the word “honey”.  
 
7.2.8 Where honey has been designated according to floral, plant source, or by the name of a geographical 
or topological region, then the name of the country where the honey has been produced shall be declared.  
 
7.2.9 The subsidiary designations listed in clause 7.2.1.10  may not be used unless the honey conforms to 
the appropriate description contained therein. The styles in clause 7.2.1.11  (b) and (c) shall be declared.  
 
7.2.10 Honey may be designated according to the method of removal from the comb, as follows:  
 
a) Extracted h oney  is honey obtained by centrifuging decapped broodless combs;  
 
b) Pressed h oney  is honey obtained by pressing broodless combs;  and 
 
c) Drained h oney  is honey obtained by dr aining decapped broodless  combs.  
 
7.2.11 Honey may be designated according to the following styles:  
 
a) Honey which i s honey in liquid or crystalline state or a mixture of the two;  
 
b) Comb honey which i s honey stored by bees in the cells of freshly built broodless  combs and which is 
sold in sealed whole combs or sections of such combs;  and 
 
c) Cut comb in honey or chunk honey which i s honey containing one or more pieces of comb honey.  
 
7.2.12 Honey which has been filtered in such a way as to result in the significant removal of pollen shall be  
designated “filtered honey ”. 
 
7.3 Labeling of non -retail containers  
 
7.3.1  Information on labeling as speci fied in the MS 19 and in clause  7.2 of this standard shall be given 
either on the container or in accompanying documents, except that the name of the product, lot identification 
and the name and address of the producer, processor or packer shall appear on the container.  
 
7.3.2  The following information shall be marked on each package or on a label:  
  
6 
 a) The name of the product, ‘ honey’ and trade name or brand name, if any; the name may be 
supplemented by the term ‘blossom’ or ‘nectar’ or ‘honeydew’ or ‘blend of honeydew honey with 
blossom honey’ depending on the origin of the honey;  
 
b) The name and address of the producer or packer;  
 
c) The net weight;  
 
d) The harvesting country;  
 
e) Batch number ;  
 
f) The harvesting year;  
 
g) The date of ‘best before date’;  
 
h) The storage mode and instructions; and  
 
i) Nutrition information as necessary.  
 
7.3.3  Where honey has been designated according to floral, plant source  or by the name of a geographical 
or topological region, then the name of the country where the honey has been produced shall be declared.  
 
 
8 SAMPLING AND METHODS OF TEST  
 
8.1 Sampling  
 
Sampling shall be carried out as specified in  Annex A  of this draft Malawi standard . 
 
8.2 Methods of test  
 
Testing of honey shall be done in accordance to the test methods prescribed in Tables 1 and 2. 
   
7 
 ANNEX A  
(Normative)  
SAMPLING OF HONEY  
 
A 1 General requirements  
 
A 1.1  In drawing, preparing, storing and handling samples, the following precautions and directions shall be 
observed:  
 
A 1.1.1  Samples shall be taken in a protected place not exposed to damp air, dust or soot.  
 
A 1.1.2  The sampling instrument shall be clean and dry when used.  
 
A 1.1.3  Precautions shall be taken to protect the samples, the material being sampled, the sampling 
instrument an d the containers for samples from adventitious contamination.  
 
A 1.1.4  The samples shall be placed in clean and dry glass containers.  The sample containers shall be of 
such a size that they are almost completely filled by the samples.  
 
A 1.1.5  Each contai ner shall be sealed air -tight after filling and marked with full details of sampling, code 
number, and other important particulars of the consignment.  
 
A 1.1.6  Samples shall be stored in such a manner that the temperature of the material does not vary undu ly 
from the normal temperature.  
 
 
A 2 Scale of sampling  
 
A 2.1  Lot.  All containers in a single consignment belonging to the same type and grade of honey shall 
constitute a lot.  If the consignment is declared to consist of different grades of material the  containers 
belonging to the same grade shall be grouped together and the groups of containers of the same grade in a 
consignment shall constitute separate lots.  
 
A 2.1.1  Samples shall be tested from each lot for ascertaining its conformity to the requirem ents of this 
specification.  
 
A 2.2  The number of containers  to be drawn from each lot shall depend on the size of the lot and it shall be 
done acco rding to columns 1, 2 and 3 in Table A1.  
 
Table A1: Sampling procedure  
 
S/N 1 2 3 
1 Lot size, 
containers  Number of containers to be selected 
for size of the container  
500 g and above  Below 500 g  
2 Up to 25  3 6 
3 26 to 150  4 6 
4 151 to 500  5 9 
5 501 and above  7 12 
 
A 2.3  The containers shall be selected at random from the lot and  for this purpose a random number table 
as agreed to between the purchaser and the supplier shall be used.  If such a table is not available, the 
following procedure shall be adopted:  
 
A 2.3.1  Starting from any container in the lot, count them as 1, 2, 3,… ., up to r in a systematic manner, where 
r is equal to the integral part of N, N being the total number of containers in the lot, n the number of containers 
to be chosen (see Table  
  
8 
 A 1).  Every rth container thus counted shall be separated until the requ isite number of containers is obtained 
from the lot to give samples for test.  
 
 
A 3 Test samples and referee samples  
 
A 3.1  The samples shall be drawn and prepared according to A 3.2  and A 3.3 , when the container are 
selected according to column 2 of table  A 1.  Clause A 3.3  shall be followed when the containers are selected 
according to column 3 of table A 1.  
 
A 3.2  Preparation of Individual samples  
 
Draw with suitable sampling equipment equal quantities of the honey from different parts (top, middle, bott om 
etc) of the container till about 300g is drawn; divide into three equal parts.  Each part so obtained shall 
constitute an individual sample representing the container and shall be transferred immediately to thoroughly 
clean and dry containers and sealed  air-tight, and marked with particulars given in A 1.1.5 .  Three individual 
samples so obtained from each container shall be made into sets in such a way that each set has a sample 
representing each selected container.  One of these shall be marked for the  purchaser, another for the vendor 
and the third for the referee.  
 
A 3.3  Preparation of a composite sample  
 
From the material from each of the selected container, remaining after the individual sample has been taken, 
approximately equal quantities of the material shall be taken and mixed together so as to form a composite 
sample weighing about 150 g.  This compo site sample shall be divided into three equal parts and transferred 
to clean and dry containers sealed air -tight and labeled with particulars as prescribed in A 1.1.5 .  One of these 
composite samples shall be for the purchaser, another for the vendor and t he third for the referee.  
 
A 3.4  When honey is in containers of size less than 500 g, the number of containers shall be selected 
according to column 3 of table A 1.  The selected containers shall be divided at random into three equal sets.  
The containers belonging to each set shall be opened and approximately equal quantity of material shall be 
taken and mixed together to form a composite sample of 50 g.  The honey left in each container after 
preparation of composite sample shall be sealed air -tight with all the particulars as prescribed in A 1.1.5 .  The 
three sets of the individual samples with their corresponding composite samples shall be marked in such a 
way that one set is for the purchaser, another for the vendor and the third for the referee.  
 
A 3.5  Reference samples.  Reference samples shall consist of a set of individual samples ( A 3.2  and A 
3.4) and a composite sample ( A 3.3  and A 3.4 ). 
 
 
A 4 Number of tests  
 
A 4.1  Tests for moisture, ash and total reducing sugars and Fiehe’s test shall be conduct ed on each of the 
samples constituting a set of individual samples.  
 
A 4.2  Tests for the specific gravity, sucrose percent, fructose -glucose ratio and acidity shall be conducted 
on the composite sample.  
 
A 4.2.1  If Fiehe’s  test is positive, aniline chloride test shall be carried out on the individual sample.  
 
 
A 5 Criteria for conformity  
 
A 5.1  A lot shall be declared to have satisfied the requirements of the specification when A 5.1.1  to A 5.1.4  
are satisfied.  
 
A 5.1.1  Each individual sample shall satisfy the requirements given in A 3.1 , A 3.2 and A 3.3 . 
 
A 5.1.2  The test results on the composite sample for the characteristics mentioned in A 4.2  and A 4.2.1  shall 
satisfy the corresponding requirements as prescribed in claus e 4 of this standard.  
  
9 
 A 5.1.3  The test result on individual samples for Fiehe’s test shall be negative.  The aniline chloride test, 
carried out on those individual samples in which Fiehe’s  test is positive, shall satisfy the corresponding 
requirements as prescribed in clause 4 of this standard.  
 
A 5.1.4  The test results for moisture, ash and total reducing sugars  shall be recorded as shown in Table A2 
of this standard.  The mean and range for the test results of the individual sample shall be calculated as follows:  
 
Mean (
 ) = 
resultstestof numberresultstestof sum  
 
 
Range ( R) = the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the test results.  
 
The mean and range shall be recorde d as shown in Columns 3 and 4  of Table A 2 respectively.  The 
appropriate expr ession as shown in column 6 of Table A 2 shall be calculated.  If the values of these expression 
satisfy the relevant conditions prescribed in column 6 o f Table A 2, the lot shall be declared to have satisfied 
the requirements of moisture,  ash and total reducing sugars.  
 
Table A2: Criteria for conformity  
 
S/N 1 2 3 4 5 
1 Characteristic  Test results  
1, 2, …, n  Mean  Range  Criterion for conformity  
2 Moisture  ̶ 
 1 R1 
1+ 0,6 R1≤ the value of 
the grade as specified in 
clause 4 
3 Ash ̶ 
 2 R2 
 2+ 0,6 R2≤ 0.5  
4 Total reducing 
sugars  ̶ 
 3 R3 
3+ 0,6 R3≤ the value of 
that grade as specified in 
clause 4 ICS 6 7.180.10            DMS 366:2021  
Second edition  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE MALAWI BUREAU OF STANDARDS              CERTIFICATION MARK SCHEME  
The Malawi Bureau of Standards is the 
standardizing body in Malawi under the aeg is 
of the Ministry of Industry.  Set up in 1972 by 
the Malawi Bureau of Standards Act (Cap: 
51:02), the Bureau is a parastatal body whose 
activities aim at formulating and promoting the 
general adoption of standards relating to 
structures, commodities, materials, practices, 
operations and from time to time revise, alter 
and amend the same to incorporate advanced 
technology.  To bring the advantages of standardization within the 
reach of the common consumer, the Bureau 
operates a Certification Mark Scheme.  Under 
this scheme, manufacturers who produce 
goods that conform to national standards are 
granted permits to use the Bureau’s “Mark of 
Quality” depicted below on their products.  This 
Mark gives confidence to the consumer of the 
commodity’s reliability.