ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(74)179
Vol.1974/0027

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COMMISSION OFTHEEURQPEAN COMMUNITIES
\
COM(74)179final
Brussels.27February1974
PROPOSAL FORA
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
ontheapproximation ofthelaws
oftheMemberStatesrelatingtohoney
(Amended ,proposalsubmittedbytheCommissiontotheCouncil
"underthesecondparagraphofArticle149oftheESCTreaty)
C0MC74)179final

Explanatory memorandum
On9March1970"theCommissionpresented ,totheCouncilaproposalforaRegulation
"basedonArticle43'oftheTreaty'bntheapproximation ofthelawsoftheMember
Statesrelatingtohoney".
TheOpinionoftheEuropeanParliamentwasreceivedon9July1970^an<3-thatof
2theEconomicandSocialCommitteeon25November1970.
Followingtheseopinionsanddiscussions amongtheSix,furtherstudyofthematter
ledtheCommissionto"believethatitwould"beadvisabletopresentanamended
proposaltospeeduptheworkinvolved.
Theamendedproposalessentially involvesthefollowingpoints:
1.ThediscussionsintheCouncilresultedinavirtuallyunanimousvoteinfavour
ofgivingthistexttheformofaDirectiveallowingtheMemberStatestoadapt
Communitylegislation moresatisfactorily tonationalcircumstances .
r
AlthoughtheCommissionrecognizesthevalidityofthisopinionit.wishesto
useArticle43oftheEECTreatyasalegalbasis.
2.TheamendedproposalwasadaptedtotheformoftheDirectivesrecentlyadopted
"bytheCouncili.e.:
(i)theCouncilDirectiveof24July1973ontheapproximation ofthelawsof■
theMemberStatesrelatingtococoaandchocolateproductsintendedfor
humanconsumption (73/241/EEC)^.
(ii)theCouncilDirectiveof10December1973ontheapproximation ofthelaws
oftheMemberStatesrelatingtocertainsugarsintendedforhuman
consumption .
Thesemodifications "basicallycoveredlabellingandothergeneralpoints.
./.
10JHoC101,4August1971,p.40.
2ITotpublishedinOJ
30JHoL223,p.23.

Moreover ,when "tnematter wasbeing examined itappeared ,that certain criteria
governing thecomposition ofhoney ,inparticular thediastase activity andthe
hydro:xymeth;£furfural content ,didnotreflect thetrue situation intheCommunity
honey from warm regions cannot infact meet the conditions laid down inthe
proposal of9March 1970 astheir diastase activity may "belower andtheir
hydro symethyl furfural content higher -
Pursuant totheCouncil Resolution of18December 1973 onindustrial policy
-Annex I-"Abolition oftechnical barriers totrade infoodstuffs ",this
pmendod proposal must beadopted bytheCouncil before 1July I974 .
Itisdesireable inpoint out that theproposal isbased ontheCodex
(FAO/WHO)recommended standard forhoney andthat after theadoption of
the directive this standard will beaccepted .The few differences between .
zhe "uwotexts are inpractice minor deviations not affecting exchanges .

I
'!
Proposal for aCouncil Directive onthe arrarG:d.ma.t Ionofthe laws
1
ofthe lîeiaber Citâtes relating tohoney
THE COUIICIL OPTHEEUROPEAN COI&fJMTIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic Community ,and
inparticular Article 43''thereof ;
Having regard totheproposal from theCommission ; *
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEuropean Parliament :
Whereas thelaws ,regulations andadministrative provisions oftheMember States
define theterm "honey ",specify thedifferent varieties andlaydown the
requirements tobemetbytheproduct andtheinscriptions which must appear on
thepackages orlabels ;
Whereas theexisting differences between these laws hinders the free movement of
this product andmay impose unfair conditions ofcompetitions onproducers ;
Whereas ,therefore ,itisnecessary atCommunity level todefine the terra "honey ",
toprovide forthedifferent varieties which mp„ybemarketed under appropriate
names ,tofixthegeneral andspecific criteria foritscomposition ,andto
establish themain labelling inscriptions ;
Whereas thedetermination ofthemethods ofsampling andanalysis needed for
checking thecomposition ofthehoney isanimplementing measure ofatechnical
nature ;whereas inorder tosimplify andspeed upprocedure thetask ofadopting
itshould beentrusted totheCommission ;
Whereas itisdesirable that ,forallcases whsre theCouncil empowers theCommission
toimplement rules relating tofoodstuffs ,provision should.be made foraprocedure
establishing close cooperation between theMember States andtheCommission vfithir
theStanding Committee onFoodstuffs setupbytheCouncil Decision of13November
12S91; '
■ -/•
^OJKoL291,19Kbvember I969 »p.9»

Uhcrea~ >Article2ofthisRegulationprohibitstheuseoftheterm"honey"for
productswhich6.0notcomplywiththedefinitionlaididowninArticlel(l);
whereat 1however,theimmediateimplemsntationefthisb&nettultl«&,Ufiafiiutur-
bancesonthemarketswheretheuseoftheexpression "kunsthonig"ispermitted
"bypreviousnationallegislationtodescribeaproductotherthanhoney;whereas
provisionshouldconsequently hemadeforanappropriatetransitional periodto
allowthenecessarychangestohemade;
Whereasanumberofnationalprovisionsofahorizontalnatureshouldhemaintained
asatransitional measureuntilgeneralCommunityrulesregardingthelabellingof
foodstuffsareadopted;
'WhereasatpresentonthemarketofcertainMemberStatestherearehoneyswith
variousanalyticalcharacteristics ;whereasitwouldappeardifficulttoapply
tothemallthecriterialaiddownintheAnnextothisDirective ;whereas,
however,amoredetailedstudywouldmakeitpossibletomakeamoredefinite
decisionlater:
HASADOPTEDTIÏI5DIRECTIVE :
Article1
1.ForthepurposesofthisDirectivetheexpression "honey"meansthefluid,
viscousorcrystallized foodstuffwhichisproduced "bythehoney-beesfrom
thenectarofblossomsofsecretionsoforonlivingpartsofplants,andwhich
the"beescollect,transform,combinewithspecificsubstancesoftheirown
andstoreinhoneycombs.
2.Themaintypesofhoneyareasfollows:
(a)accordin/?toorif^Ln
-blossomiioney :thehoneywhichisobtainedfromthenectarofblossoms';
-honeydewhoney:thehoneyisobtainedmainlyfromsecretionsoforon
livingpartsofplants;itscolourvariesfromlight
orgreenishbrowntoalmostblack;

("b)accorfllrv?tor.Ddocfprocsssin*
cornbhoney:thehoneystored "bybeesinthecellsoffreshlybuilt
broodlesscombsandsoldinsealedwholecombsorsectionsof
suchcombs;
extractedhoney:honeyobtainedbycentrifuging decappedbroodlesscorubs;
pressedhoney:honeyobtainedbypressingbroodlesscombswith-orwithout
theapplication ofmoderateheat.
Article2
TheKemberStatesshallmakeallnecessaryprovisionstoensurethatthehoneycan
onlybesoldifitcomplieswiththedefinitions andraleslaiddowninthis
DirectiveandtheAnnexhereto.
Article3
1.Theterm"honey"shallbereservedfortheproductdefinedinArticlel(l)and-
shallbeusedintradetodescribethatproduct.
2.ThetermsreferredtoinArticlel(2)shallbereservedfortheproducts
definedtherein.'
Article4
BywayofderogationfromArticle3(l)theterm"Xunsthonig"maystillbeusedior
aperiodof5yearsstartingfromthedateofnotification ofthisDirectiveto
describeaprod.uctotherthanhoneyinaccordancewithpreviousnationalprovision
governingthisproduct.
Article5
Tneuseofadditivesinhoneyshallbeforbidden.

i
Article 6 . . '
1.When itissold thehoney shall comply with thecompositional criteria listed
inthe Annex . ■– ~ ...
2»Inaddition : ■
(a)theamount offoreign substances such asfungi ,insects andparts ofinsects ,'•
"brood combs andgrains ofsand shall notbegreater than 1$;
(b)noforeign tastes orodours shall "bepermitted ;
(c)itshall nothave begun toferment oreffervesce ;
(d)itshall nothave been heated tosuch anextent that itsnatural enzymes
aredestroyed ormade inactive ;
(e)itsacidity shall notbeartificially changed .
3.Bywayofderogation from paragraphs 1and 2,honey shall bemarketed as
"baker 'shoney "or"industrial honey "if,although suitable forhuman conception ,
(a)ithasthedefects referred toinparagraph .2(b)(c)or(d)or
(b)itsdiastase activity andhydroxymethylfurfixral content donotcomply with
the specifications In ,iddown intheAnnex .
However ,inthecase referred tounder (b)aMember State shall ,asatransitional
measure ,refrain from making this term obligatory andallow theterm "honey "to
beused ;-:theCouncil ,onaproposal from theCommission ,shall decide within
five years starting from thedate ofnotification ofthis Directive whether to
retain oramend this derogation .
Article 7
1*Honey packed incontainers ofmore thaJi 50grammes shall besold only inthe
following netweights :125 250gmandmultiples of \.250grammes .
2.Onatransitional basis foraperiod ofnotaore taan 'five years from Tjne
notification 01tnis Directive «weights other than those listed inparagraph 1
shall also beallowed iithese weights comply with tnenational provisions
-inforce orwith practices existing atthetime ofnotification ofthis
Directive . iArticle 8
1.Only thefollowing inscriptions shall beobligatory onthepackages vcontai­
ners orlabels ofproducts which meet thecriteria intheAnnex .These ins­
criptions shall beclearly visible ,legible andindelible • / _

(a)"the -term "honey "oronecfthe •terms referred 'toinArticle6(3);
0>)thenotweight expressed ingrammes orkilogrammes ;
(c)hename orthebusiness name andtheaddress ortheregistered Hond .
Office oftheproducer orthepacker ,orofaretailer v.Tithin the
Community .
2.Bywayofderogation from paragraph 1,andwithout prejudice totheprovisions '
adopted "bytheCommunity .with regard tothelabelling offoodstuffs ,the
Kernber States mayretain anynational provisions which require mention ofthe
country oforigin .This indication ,however ,shall notherequired forhoney
produced within theCommunity .
3.Theterm "honey "referred toinparagraph 1(a)shall not "besupplemented by:
(a)areference totheorigin ,'whether blossom' OPplant ,unless theproduct
comes mainly from the source indicated andhastheappropriate organoleptic
andmicroscopic characteristics ;
(b)ageographical ortopographical name ,unless theproduct comes entirely
from theregion indicated ;
(c)areference totheabsence ofanyheating .asss ,unless theproduct has
been obtained entirely without heating .
J..Ifthehoney ispacked incontainers ofmore than 10kilogrammes netandis
notretailed ,itshall bepermissible fortheindications referred toin
paragraph 1(b)and (c)toappear only ontheaccompanying documents .
j.TheMember States shall notgobeyond what islaid dovm inparagraph' 1in
,specifying theprocedure forgiving thedetails laid down inthesaid
paragraph :
However ,theMember States mayprohibit trade inhoney ontheir territory
..if .theinscriptions laid dovm inparagraph l(a)donotappear inthenational
language(s )ononeside ofthepackage orcontainer ,
b.During tnetransitional period provided forinArticle 7paragraph 2.
weights other than metric ,accompanied ,bytneir oietric equivalent must
beindicated inIreland and tneUnited Kingdom ii"tiaose Msrabar States
soreauire . */*

Article0
Themethodsofsamplingandanalysisforcheckingthecomposition and.-characteristics
ofhoneyshall "beestablishedinaccordancewiththeprocedurelaiddownin
Article10.
Article10
1.IftheproceduredefinedinthisArticleisused,theStandingCommitteeon
Foodstuffssetup"bytheCouncilDecisionof131-Tovember19^9»hereaftercalled
the"Committee",shall"beconvened "byitsPresidentactingonhisowninitiative r
orattherequestofarepresentative ofaMemberState.
2.TheCommission *srepresentative shallsubmittotheCommitteeadraftofthe
measuresto"betaJcen.TheCommitteeshallgiveitsopinionthereon 1
withinthetimelaiddown"bythePresidentonthe"basisoftheurgencjrofthe
matterinquestion.Itshallgiveitsopinion "byamajorityof41votes,the
MemberStatesvotes "beingweightedaslaiddowninArticle148(2)oftheTreaty.
t
TnePresidentshallnottakepartinthevoting.
3.(a)TheCommissionshalladoptthemeasuresenvisagediftheyareinaccordance
v/iththeCommittee'sopinion.
("b)IfthemeasuresenvisagedarenotinaccordancewiththeCommittee'sopinion
orifnoopinionisgiven,theCommissionshallsubmittotheCouncil,iri.thout
delay,aproposalonthemeasurestohetaken.TheCouncilshallactbya
qualifiedmajority. *
(c)Ifattheendofthreemonthsstartingfromthedateonwhichitwas
approachedtheCouncilhasnotacted,theproposed jmeasuresshall"beadopted
bytheCommission.
Article11
ThisDirectiveshallnotat>plytoproductsintendedforexportfromtheCommunity

'I
1
!7
Art .1,el ta12
1.Within oneyear from 'thedate ofnotification of "this 'Directive "theLemper
States shall ,ifnecessary ,amend tlieir legislation toconfom with the
provisions ofthis Directive andshall immediately inform theCommission .Tne
amended legislation shall apply toproducts cold intheKenfber States twoyears
after this notification .
2.Assoon asnotification ofthis Directive has "been given ,theMember Soa^es
shall inaddition inform theCommission ,insufficient time forittosubmit i^s
comments ,ofallessential subsequent draft laws ,regulations oradministrative
provisions which they intend toadopt inthesector covered "bythis Directive .
Article 13
This Directive isaddressed tothe Ilember States .
Done atBrussels , FortheCouncil
The Président

-i
ANÏÏRX!
Compositional criteriaforhoney
!•Apparentreducing "sugarcontent,calculatedasinvertsugar
-Blossomhoney notle
-Honeydewhoneyandblendsofhoneydewhoney
andblossoiahoney
2.Moisturecontent
-Ingénéral
-Heatherhoney(Calluna)andcloverhoney
(trifoliumsp.)
3.Arrn^rentsncrosecontent
-Ingénéral
-Honeydewhoney,andblendsofhoneydewhoney
andblossomhoney ,acacia,lavenderandbariksia
menziesiihoneys
4.Waterinsolublesolidscontents
-Ingenera-1
-Pressedhoney
5.IIinera.1content(ash)
-Ingénéral
-Honeydewhoneyandblendsofhoneydewhoney
andblossomhoneynotlessthan.o5/b
notlessthan60$
notriiorèthan21$
hotmorethan23$
notmorethan5$
notmorethan10$
s
notmorethan0.1^
notmorethan0.5$
notmorethan0.6$
notmorethanlci
6.Acidity notmorethan40milli-equivalents acidper1000grammes.:
7»Diastaseactivityar.dhydrosyraethylfurfuralcontent(iL'IF1)-determinedafter
processing andblending
(a)Diastaseactivity(Schadescale)
.-Ingénéral
-Honeyswithlownaturalenzymecontent '
(e.g.citrus)andahydroxymethylfurfural
contentnotmorethan15mg/kgnotlessthan8
notlessthan3
(b)HEF
C7not'morethan40rng/kg
(subjecttotheprovisionsof
paragraph(a)secondindent).