Honey Regulations 1976
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
1976 No. 1832
FOOD AND DRUGS
COMPOSITION AND LABELLING
The Honey Regulations 197629thOctober 1976
12thNovember 1976
Regulations 2 and 143rdDecember 1976Remainder1stMay 1977
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State for Social Services, acting jointly, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 4, 7 and 123 of the Food and Drugs Act 1955(a) as amended by section 4(1) of, and paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 4 to, the European Communities Act 1972(b) and as read with the Secretary of State for Social Services Order 1968(c), and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following regulations, after consultation with such organisations as appear to them to be representative of interests substantially affected by the regulations and after reference to the Food Hygiene Advisory Council under section 82 of the Food and Drugs Act 1955 (in so far as the regulations are made in exercise of the powers conferred by the said section 7):—
Citation and commencement
1. These regulations may be cited as the Honey Regulations 1976 and shall come into operation as respects regulations 2 and 14 on 3rd December and as respects the remainder on 1st May 1977.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
"the Act" means the Food and Drugs Act 1955;
"blossom honey" means honey produced wholly or mainly from the nectar of blossoms;
"brood" means any immature stage of the honeybee including the egg, larva and pupa and any honeybee which has not emerged from its cell in a honeycomb;
"chunk honey" means honey which contains at least one piece of comb honey;
(a) 4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 16.
(b) 1972 c. 68.
(c) S.I. 1968/1699 (1968 III, p. 4585).
"comb honey" means honey stored by honeybees in the cells of freshly built broodless combs and intended to be sold in sealed whole combs or in parts of such combs;
"the Community" means the European Economic Community;
"container" has the meaning assigned to it by the Labelling of Food Regulations 1970(a), as amended(b);
"drained honey" means honey obtained by draining uncapped broodless honeycombs;
"extracted honey" means honey obtained by centrifuging uncapped broodless honeycombs;
"food" means food intended for sale for human consumption and includes drink, chewing gum and other products of a like nature and use, and articles and substances used as ingredients in the preparation of food or drink or of such products, but does not include—
(a) water, live animals or birds,
(b) fodder or feedingstuffs for animals, birds or fish, or
(c) articles or substances used only as drugs;
"food and drugs authority" has the meaning assigned to it by section 198 of the Local Government Act 1972(c);
"freshly built broodless combs" means freshly built broodless honeycombs in which no brood has ever been reared;
"honey" means the fluid, viscous or crystallized food which is produced by honeybees from the nectar of blossoms, or from secretions of, or found on, living parts of plants other than blossoms, which honeybees collect, transform, combine with substances of their own and store and leave to mature in honeycombs;
"honeybee" means any member of any species of the genus Apis;
"honeydew honey" means honey, the colour of which is light brown, greenish brown, black or any intermediate colour, produced wholly or mainly from secretions of or found on living parts of plants other than blossoms;
"human consumption" includes use in the preparation of food for human consumption;
"plant" includes any tree or shrub;
"pressed honey" means honey obtained by pressing broodless honeycombs with or without the application of moderate heat;
"sell" includes offer or expose for sale or have in possession for sale, and "sale" and "sold" shall be construed accordingly;
"sell by retail" means sell to a person buying otherwise than for the purpose of re-sale, but does not include selling to a caterer for the purposes of his catering business or to a manufacturer for the purposes of his manufacturing business; and "sale by retail" and "sold by retail" shall be construed accordingly;
(a) S.I. 1970/400 (1970 I, p. 1383).
(b) There is no amendment which relates expressly to the subject matter of these regulations.
(c) 1972 c. 70.
AND other expressions have the same meaning as in the Act.
(2) The Interpretation Act 1889(a) shall apply to the interpretation of these regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
(3) Any reference in these regulations to a label borne on a container shall be construed as including a reference to any legible marking on the container however effected.
(4) Unless the context otherwise requires, all proportions mentioned in these regulations are proportions calculated by weight of the product as sold.
(5) Any reference in these regulations to diastase activity or hydroxymethylfurfural content shall be construed as a reference to such activity or content as determined at any time after any processing or blending and, subject thereto, any such reference to diastase activity shall be construed as a reference to such activity as determined in accordance with the method set out in Schedule 1.
(6) For the purpose of these regulations, the supply of food, otherwise than for sale, at, in or from any place where food is supplied in the course of a business shall be deemed to be a sale of that food, and references to purchasing and purchasers shall be construed accordingly.
(7) Any reference in these regulations to any other regulations shall be construed as a reference to such regulations as amended by any subsequent regulations.
(8) Any reference in these regulations to a numbered regulation or schedule shall, unless the reference is to a regulation of or schedule to specified regulations, be construed as a reference to the regulation or schedule bearing that number in these regulations.
Exemptions
3. The following provisions of these regulations shall not apply to any honey—
(a) sold, consigned or delivered for exportation to any place outside the United Kingdom; or
(b) supplied under Government contracts for consumption by Her Majesty's forces or supplied for consumption by a visiting force within the meaning of any of the provisions of Part I of the Visiting forces Act 1952(b).
Composition and preparation of honey
4.—(1) Any honey sold, consigned or delivered shall comply with the appropriate requirements as to composition set out in Schedule 2 in relation to that honey.
(2) No person shall sell, consign or deliver any honey in contravention of paragraph (1) of this regulation.
(3) No person shall add to any honey intended for sale as such any food or substance other than honey.
(a) 1889 c. 63.
(b) 1952 c. 67.
(4) No person shall sell, consign or deliver any honey to which any food or substance has been added in contravention of paragraph (3) of this regulation.
(5) No person shall sell, consign or deliver as such any honey which is not as far as practicable free from mould, insects, insect debris, brood or any other organic or inorganic...
To continue reading
Request your trial