Honey, jam, juice

EU Parliament decides on stricter indications of origin

The EU Parliament has voted in favor of stricter indications of origin for honey.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Oliver Berg)

The EU Parliament decided on Wednesday that the countries of origin of honey must be clearly labeled in the future. Previously, it only had to be stated whether it came from the EU or not. New rules were also adopted for jams and juices.

In future, juices may be labeled as "sugar-reduced" if at least 30 percent of the naturally occurring sugar has been removed. Sweeteners are excluded. For jams, it was stipulated that at least 450 grams of fruit must be used per kilogram.

603 MEPs voted in favor of the new "breakfast" rules, nine against and ten abstained. "In this way, we are putting the brakes on honey counterfeiters, who have so far done business with cheap counterfeit honey from outside the EU at the expense of our beekeepers, and helping consumers to make informed purchasing decisions," said Austrian MEP Alexander Bernhuber (ÖPV) in a press release.

"This will prevent products that do not meet our EU standards from reaching our supermarket shelves in the first place," said SPÖ MEP Günther Sidl, who is also convinced of the stricter regulations. Currently, a large proportion of honey comes from China.