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Parliamentary question - E-015893/2015Parliamentary question
E-015893/2015

Inviability of ‘Blend of EU and non-EU honeys’ labelling

Question for written answer E-015893-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Norbert Erdős (PPE)

The provisions of Directive 1169/2011/EU on the provision of food information to consumers stipulate that the packaging of honey comprising a blend of honey produced in the Member States and honey imported from non-EU countries must bear the label ‘Blend of EU and non-EU honeys’. This loose regulation enables poor-quality, adulterated honey of dubious origin, imported from non-Member States, to be mixed with good-quality honey from Member States and sold as blended honey. I have six test reports in my possession which prove that this regrettable practice takes place. This means that consumers are not informed of the country of origin or the quality of the honey which they purchase and consume.

In my opinion, the proper provision of information to consumers requires that the packaging label bear an indication of the country of origin of the honey in the final product and what proportion of the labelled product this comprises. It would also seem justifiable for quantities below 1% to be highlighted in this way.

I have the following questions for the Commission:

Is it prepared to initiate an immediate review of the directive on the provision of food information to consumers?

What labelling provisions does it propose in place of ‘Blend of EU and non-EU honeys’ which will enable consumers to know exactly the countries of origin and the quality of honeys and what proportions are present in the final product?