Honey (Amendment) Regulations, 2026

L.N. 73 of 2026

FOOD SAFETY ACT

(CAP. 449)

Honey (Amendment) Regulations, 2026

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 10 of the Food

Safety Act, the Minister responsible for food, has made the following

regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Honey Citation, scope

(Amendment) Regulations, 2026 and these regulations shall be read and

commencement.

and construed as one with the Honey Regulations, hereinafter referred S.L. 449. 38.

to as the "principal regulations".

(2) The scope of these regulations is to transpose Directive

(EU) 2024/1438 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14

May 2024 amending Council Directives 2001/110/EC relating to

honey, 2001/112/EC relating to fruit juices and certain similar products

intended for human consumption, 2001/113/EC relating to fruit jams,

jellies and marmalades and sweetened chestnut purée intended for

human consumption, and 2001/114/EC relating to certain partly or

wholly dehydrated preserved milk for human consumption.

(3)

These regulations shall come into force on the 14th of June

2026.

Immediately after regulation 1.3 of the principal Adds a new

regulation to

regulations there shall be added the following new regulation

the principal

regulations.

"1.4

These regulations also implement the

provisions of Directive 2024/1438/EU of the European

Parliament and of the Council amending Council

Directive 2001/110/EC relating to honey.".

Immediately after regulation 2.4 of the principal regulation Adds new

regulation to the

there shall be added the following new regulation

principal

regulations.

"2.5 Products that are placed on the market or

labelled before 14 June 2026 in accordance with Directive

2001/110/EC relating to honey may continue to be

marketed until the exhaustion of stocks.".

Regulation 4 of the principal regulations shall be substituted Substitutes

regulation 4 of

the principal

regulations.

by the following new regulation

"4. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the

provision of food information to consumers shall apply to

the products defined in the First Schedule subject to the

following conditions:".

Regulation 4.2 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following new regulation

"4.2. The product names referred to in paragraph 2

and 3 of the First Schedule shall apply only to the

products defined therein and shall be used in trade to

designate them. Those names may be replaced by the

simple product name "honey", except in the case of comb

honey, chunk honey or cut comb in honey and baker’s

honey

Provided that

(a) in the case of baker’s honey, the words

"intended for cooking only" shall appear on the

label in close proximity to the product name;

(b) except in the case of baker’s honey,

those names may be supplemented by information

concerning the honey’s

-

floral or vegetable origin, if the

product comes wholly or mainly from the

indicated

source

and

presents

the

organoleptic,

physico-chemical

and

microscopic characteristics of the indicated

origin;

-

regional,

territorial

or

topographical origin, if the product comes

entirely from the indicated source;

-

specific quality criteria.".

Regulation 4.4 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following new regulation

"4.4. The country of origin where the honey has

been harvested shall be indicated on the label. If the honey

originates in more than one (1) country, the countries of

origin where the honey has been harvested shall be

indicated on the label in the principal field of vision, in

descending order of their share in weight, together with the

percentage that each of those countries of origin

represents. A tolerance of five percent (5%) shall be

allowed for each individual (1) share within the blend,

calculated on the basis of the operator’s traceability

documentation

Provided that in the case of honey placed on the

local market, where the number of countries of origin of

honey in a blend is greater than four (4), and the four (4)

largest shares represent more than fifty percent (50%) of

the blend, only the percentage of those four (4) largest

shares shall be indicated, whilst the remaining countries of

origin shall be indicated in descending order without a

percentage

Provided further that in the case of packages

containing net quantities of honey of less than thirty

grammes (30g), the names of the countries of origin may

be replaced by a two-letter code, in accordance with the

latest version of the international standard ISO 3166-1

two-letter code (alfa-2) in force.".

Regulation 4.5 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

substituted by the following new regulation

"4.5. The details to be indicated pursuant to sub-

regulation (a) of regulation 4.2 shall be considered to be

mandatory details particulars in accordance with Article 9

of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European

Parliament and of the Council.".

Regulation 4.6 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

substituted by the following new regulation

"4.6. In the case of baker’s honey, bulk containers,

packaging and sales documentation shall clearly indicate the

full product name as stipulated in paragraph 3 of the First

Schedule.".

Regulation 5 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

substituted by the following new regulation

"5. The implementing acts referred to in

Directive (EU) 2024/1438 of the European Parliament

and Council of 14 May 2024 shall be adopted in

accordance with the examination procedure referred to

in Article 7(2) of Directive 2001/110/EC

Provided that until the adoption of the

relevant implementing acts, the Food Safety and

Security Authority shall, whenever possible, use

internationally recognised validated methods of

analysis, such as those approved by the Codex

Alimentarius, to verify compliance with Directive

2001/110/EC.".

The First Schedule annexed to the principal regulations

shall be amended as follows

(a)

sub-item (viii) of item 2(b) thereof shall be deleted;

(b) in paragraph (b) of item 3 thereof the words "have

been overheated," shall be substituted by the words "have been

overheated, or";

(c) immediately after item 3 thereof, as amended, there

shall be added the following new item

have been obtained by removing foreign inorganic or

organic matter in such a way as to result in the significant

removal of pollen.".

€0.36