EU Updates Regulations on Honey, Jams, Jellies, and Other Products

 On May 14th, 2024, the European Parliament and Council issued Directive (EU) 2024/1438, which revises several previous EU directives related to food products. The updated regulations cover areas such as honey, fruit juices and similar products, jams, jellies, fruit spreads and chestnut purée, as well as certain partially or wholly dehydrated milk products intended for human consumption.

Some of the key changes include:

• Honey Regulations (Directive 2001/110/EC): The product definitions and scope have been clarified. Simple product names like "honey" can now be used, except for comb honey, chunk honey, cut comb in honey, and baker's honey, which must retain their specific names. For bakers' honey, the label must clearly state "for cooking only".
• Fruit Juice Regulations (Directive 2001/112/EC): The statement "contains only natural sugars" can now appear in the same field of vision as the product name. For mixtures of concentrated fruit juice/reduced sugar fruit juice and juice/reduced sugar juice, as well as fruit nectars produced entirely or partially from concentrated products, the label must state "made from concentrate(s)" or "partially made from concentrate(s)".
• Jam, Jelly, Marmalade Regulations (Directive 2001/113/EC): Member States can now authorize the use of "mixed fruit marmalade" or "[x] fruit marmalade" on their territory, where x represents the number of fruits used, if the marmalade is made from three or more fruits.
• Milk Product Regulations (Directive 2001/114/EC): Lactose-reduced milk products, where the lactose content is reduced by conversion to glucose and galactose, are now allowed, provided this is clearly labelled on the packaging.

The new directive will take effect 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Products placed on the market or labeled before June 14, 2026 under the previous regulations can continue to be sold until stocks are exhausted.

This update aims to provide clearer labeling and definitions for these common food categories, ensuring transparency for European consumers.