How to read a honey label

What the label must show

In the EU, honey is governed by Council Directive 2001/110/EC, which each member state transposes into national law; in Czechia this is Decree No. 490/2025, in force since 14 June 2026. The general food labelling rules of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 apply on top. Every jar of prepacked honey must therefore carry the name (‘honey’ or a more specific type), the country of origin, the net quantity, a best-before date and the name or business name and address of the producer, packer or seller. The best-before date shows how long the honey keeps its specific properties when stored properly; it is not a safety deadline. A batch (lot) code is required unless the date gives at least the day and month, and it allows a product to be traced if it has to be withdrawn.

The biggest change came with the so-called Breakfast Directive, (EU) 2024/1438. Honey from a single country still simply names that country. For blends, labels used to be allowed to say just ‘blend of EU and non-EU honeys’. Now every country of origin must be listed in descending order of weight, with the percentage of each, in the principal field of vision – usually the front of the jar. A tolerance of 5% is allowed for each share, based on the packer’s traceability records.

The directive lets member states adopt one simplification: for blends from more than four countries, percentages may be given only for the four largest shares, provided they make up more than half of the blend; the remaining countries are still listed in descending order. On portions under 30 grams, such as those served at hotel breakfasts, country names may be replaced by two-letter ISO codes. Honey labelled and placed on the market under the old rules may be sold until stocks run out.

Types of honey and what they mean

By origin, honey is either blossom (nectar) honey or honeydew honey, made from the sugary secretions of insects that feed on plant sap. Honeydew honey must meet a minimum electrical conductivity of 0.8 mS/cm; in Czechia, where it comes mainly from spruce and fir, the decree now formally recognises ‘forest honey’ (med lesní) as an equivalent name. By method of production, the rules distinguish extracted, pressed and drained honey, comb honey, chunk honey (cut comb in honey) and filtered honey, from which filtration has removed a significant share of the pollen. Creamed (set) honey is not a separate legal category: it is honey that has been crystallised under control, usually by seeding it with finely crystallised honey and stirring, to give a smooth, spreadable texture.

Baker’s honey is a category of its own. It is intended for industrial use or as an ingredient in other foods, and it may have a foreign taste or odour, may have begun to ferment or may have been overheated. Its label must therefore state ‘intended for cooking only’ close to the product name, and it may not carry any floral or regional origin. Baker’s honey, filtered honey and comb honey may not be sold under the plain name ‘honey’.

A floral source – acacia, lime, heather – may appear on the label only if the honey comes wholly or mainly from that plant and has its typical sensory, physico-chemical and microscopic characteristics, including its pollen. A regional or local name is allowed only if all of the honey comes from the place named. National inspectors check these claims in the laboratory. In Czechia this is done by the food inspection authority SZPI; non-compliant batches are published on its public portal ‘Potraviny na pranýři’ (Food in the pillory).

Quality marks

Many countries have voluntary marks run by beekeepers’ associations or ministries. In Czechia, the Czech Beekeepers’ Association’s ‘Český med’ (Czech honey) mark guarantees Czech origin and a standard stricter than the law: at most 18% water (the legal limit is 20%), at most 20 mg/kg of hydroxymethylfurfural, a marker of overheating and ageing (40 mg/kg in general), and at most 5% sucrose, confirmed by laboratory analysis. Czech honey may also carry the Ministry of Agriculture’s Klasa mark for above-average quality and the Regional Food label. Across the EU, some honeys hold a protected designation of origin (PDO) or protected geographical indication (PGI); Czechia has none.

What to watch out for

The vague wording ‘blend of EU and non-EU honeys’ may no longer be used on new labels, so you will only see it on older stock. It does not necessarily mean poor honey, but it tells you almost nothing about origin. A conspicuously low price can be a warning sign: according to the European Commission, honey imported into the EU cost on average €2.17 per kilogram in 2021, while the sugar syrups used to adulterate it are far cheaper, according to the EU anti-fraud office OLAF. Price alone proves nothing, but it explains why fraud pays.

In the EU, food may carry only health claims authorised under Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. None has been authorised for honey: in 2010 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessed claims about honey and the respiratory tract, energy and the immune system and found no cause-and-effect relationship. Wording such as ‘boosts immunity’ or ‘for colds’ therefore has no place on a honey label.

Set or cloudy honey is neither spoiled nor fake. Crystallisation is a natural property of honey: glucose, the less soluble sugar, gradually comes out of the supersaturated solution as tiny crystals. Rapeseed honey sets within days, while acacia honey can stay liquid for more than a year. Gentle warming in a water bath makes it runny again; strong overheating, however, raises its hydroxymethylfurfural content and lowers its quality.

What the label must show

Types of honey and what they mean

Quality marks

What to watch out for

Sources