Labelling change for honey sold in France
The European ‘Breakfast Directive’ will bring changes for fruit juice and jam too
Products that do not meet these new standards can continue to be sold until stocks run out if placed on sale before June 14
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Imported honey sold in France will soon have extra information about its sources on its packaging, after a new European directive, dubbed the ‘Breakfast Directive’ comes into force.
From mid-June 2026, a new European directive (2024/1438) from May 15, 2024, and published in the decree nᵒ 2026-312 of April 26, 2026, will come into force.
The ‘Breakfast Directive’ (so-called because it relates to a number of products that are often eaten for breakfast, see below), seeks to address honey imported to the EU that is made with a blend of honeys, and which contain added sugar.
The new rules mean that from June 14, 2026, all honey must list each country of harvest, including each different country if the honey is a mix or blend from different sources.
The countries of harvest must be listed in descending order of honey percentage by weight, to a margin error of not more than 5%.
Since 2022, this has been a requirement for all honey packaged in France, but the new decree extends this to all honey imports too. Previously, honey packaging labels only had to state whether the countries of harvest were part of the EU or not, without further details.
Suspect sugar
It comes after a European Commission investigation found that of 320 samples of imported honey, nearly half were suspected of violating EU rules, mainly through the addition of sugar syrups. These are intended to lower the cost of production.
As much as 74% of honey from China was found to be suspect, as well as those from Turkey. All the honey samples from the UK also did not comply, as they were found to be blends of various honey sources.
Breakfast table changes
The same directive will also bring changes for fruit juice and jam.
Fruit juice: “Fruit juice with reduced sugar content” will now be permitted to appear on packaging, but only for juices in which the amount of naturally occurring sugars has been reduced by at least 30%, and only through processes that maintain the nutritional characteristics of the original fruit.
Jam: The required minimum fruit content for products labelled as “jam” will rise from 350 grams to 450 grams per kilogram of jam (except for redcurrant, and passion fruit jam).
Overall, the directives relate to honey, fruit juices “and certain similar products intended for human consumption” including “fruit jams, jellies, and marmalades, as well as chestnut cream, intended for human consumption” and “certain partially or wholly dehydrated preserved milk intended for human consumption”, the decree states.
Products that do not meet these new standards can continue to be sold until stocks run out, if they were placed on sale or labelled before June 14, reports the AFP.
The changes come after honey production in France last year almost doubled the amount produced in 2024 (hitting a 20-year high) due to favourable weather conditions for beehives.
