Honey, cherished by King Charles III and Winnie the Pooh alike, and a quintessential feature on British breakfast tables, now faces a new challenge.
This beloved pantry staple could become yet another casualty in the wake of Sir Keir Starmer’s post-Brexit agreement with the EU, according to recent concerns.
Industry leaders are worried that the intricate labeling regulations mandated by the EU’s ‘Breakfast Directive’ could hike up costs and lead to the disposal of vast quantities of honey.
This development threatens the availability of specific honey types, such as Acacia, Orange Blossom, and Eucalyptus, in supermarkets.
The root of the issue lies in the fact that most honey available in the UK is a blend sourced from multiple countries.
However, under the new EU guidelines, UK packers will be required to meticulously list every country of origin and the precise percentage each contributes to the blend on the packaging.
Because the proportions can change frequently and at short notice due to how successful harvests in other countries are, industry bosses fear it will create a labelling nightmare.
One senior industry source told the Daily Mail: ‘Once you have a pre-printed label that says Spain X per cent, Mexico X per cent, Brazil X per cent, you’re tied to a specific ratio.
UK industry bosses fear complex new labelling rules they will have to adopt under the EU’s ‘Breakfast Directive’ will push up prices and force them to throw away thousands of tonnes of honey
During his state visit to the US this week, the King (right) was spotted giggling with Melania Trump (left) about his love of honey after being gifted some by the White House’s pastry chef
‘We’re constantly having to change blends of honey to get a consistent colour, flavour and smell.
‘So what that will do is either lead to potentially significant packaging waste – labels being binned because they’re now incorrect – or more likely some of the complicated honeys will just get removed from sale and reduce consumer choice.’
They added that the industry often uses leftover batches of honey stored away which is re-used in subsequent blends, but that doing this under the EU rules will make the mathematics almost impossible.
They added: ‘You’re talking about burning or throwing away or leaving to spoil potentially thousands of tonnes a year of perfectly good and compliant edible honey.
‘All of this is potentially wasteful and likely to drive up costs for the consumer.
‘Some of your more speciality honeys, so maybe Acacia or Orange Blossom or Eucalyptus, would just potentially get removed from sale because they become more aggravation than they’re worth for honey packers.
‘And that’s because the blend is changing all the time and it would create such a labelling nightmare producers might just not bother going there.’
The Directive won’t hurt honey packers in European countries like it will in the UK because they produce much more of their own honey rather than importing it from several sources.
Around 85 per cent of honey packed in the UK is a blend of honeys from as many as three countries.
More premium jars tend to be a blend from countries such as Spain, Mexico and Brazil, while cheaper ones are imported from as far afield as China.
Sir Keir Starmer agreed to align more closely to the EU’s single market rules on food standards when a deal was struck with Brussels last year. Ministers want it to come into force from next summer
The sweet treat is also famous for being Winnie the Pooh’s favourite food, which he famously sought throughout the Hundred Acre Wood
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Sweet deal or sticky mess?
Britain only makes around 5 per cent of the honey that is consumed, so is reliant on imports that are packed here.
During his state visit to the US this week, the King was spotted giggling with Melania Trump about his love of honey after being gifted some by the White House’s pastry chef.
The sweet treat is also famous for being Winnie the Pooh’s favourite food, which he famously sought for throughout the Hundred Acre Wood.
The UK Food Standards Agency has previously said that the UK would be ‘subject’ to the new labelling rules under the Directive unless UK-EU negotiators agree to exempt certain products.
Ministers want the deal to come into force from next summer.
It comes after it emerged marmalade may have to be labelled as citrus marmalade once it comes into force.
And as the Mail earlier revealed, classic ‘meaty’ snacks such as roast beef Monster Munch chicken and mushroom Pot Noodles may also have to be renamed.
The PM’s reset deal, known as ‘dynamic aligning’ Britain with Brussels rules, means adopting more red tape on food standards and labelling and handing oversight of trade in products back to the European Court of Justice.
It will affect thousands of businesses which don’t even trade with the bloc as they will also have to follow Brussels’ rules, even future ones.
While some sectors have welcomed the deal, as it slashes export paperwork for some businesses, others say it will tie them up in Brussels red tape and drive up their costs. The government claims Brexit has hurt the British economy and that aligning more closely with the bloc again will boost growth.
John Longworth, chairman of the Independent Business Network, said: ‘This latest move demonstrates how crazy and damaging the government’s ideological determination to become regulated by the EU is.
‘The vast majority of businesses do not trade with the EU, they produce in the UK or import excellent products from around the world and yet will have to pay the cost of compliance as will British consumers.’
Reform UK MP Andrew Rosindell said: ‘Labour’s “reset” with Brussels looks more like a quiet surrender.
‘The British people voted to leave the European Union – the Government has no mandate to edge back in through the back door.
‘We should be pursuing an independent economic policy – trading freely with Europe and the wider world – without binding ourselves to costly obligations or foreign courts. That is what Brexit was meant to deliver. The British people voted to take back control.’
Shanker Singham, a former adviser to ex-International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, said: ‘This is a classic example of why EU rules tend to be highly prescriptive and anti-innovation.
‘The UK’s advantage is a common law system that retains flexibility thus driving economic growth.
‘Aligning dynamically to prescriptive anti-innovation rules like this one would render the UK economy less competitive and smaller.’
The Cabinet Office, which is overseeing post-Brexit relations with the EU under minister Nick Thomas–Symonds, was contacted for comment.
