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Food: Commission proposes clearer rules on status of pollen in honey
A proposal to amend rules on honey to clarify the true nature of pollen
following a European Court of Justice preliminary ruling was adopted today by
the European Commission.
In line with international WTO standards, the proposal defines pollen
as a natural constituent of honey and not as an ingredient.
The Court of Justice based its interpretation on the honey directive
dating back to 2001 and qualified pollen as an ingredient in honey arguing that
the pollen is found in honey mainly due to intervention by the beekeeper.
However, the Commission proposal recognises that pollen is a natural
constituent and not an ingredient of honey;
it enters into the hive as a result of the activity of the bees and is
found in honey regardless of whether the beekeeper intervenes.
Consequently, since pollen is considered as a natural constituent of
honey, EU labelling rules requiring a list of ingredients would not apply.
The Commission's proposal will not affect the conclusion of the Court
as regards the application of the GMO legislation to GM pollen in food.
In particular it does not alter the Court conclusion that honey
containing GM pollen can be placed on the market only if it is covered by an
authorisation under the legislation.
Furthermore, the labelling rules on GMO in food will also be
applicable.
The proposal also aims to align the existing Commission implementing
powers in the Honey Directive 2001/110/EC with those introduced by the Lisbon
Treaty.
The EU honey market in figures
The EU accounts for around 13% of global honey production (200,000
tonnes):
Spain is the largest producer (33,000 tonnes), followed by Italy,
Hungary and Romania (which each produce around 22,000 tonnes) and Portugal
(21,000 tonnes).
EU honey imports amount to around 140,000 tonnes and account for 40% of
total EU consumption.
Background
This issue arose in the context of a challenge by a German beekeeper on
the legal status of honey when his honey was found to contain pollen of MON 810
genetically modified maize.
The German Court referred the case to the European Court of Justice for
a preliminary ruling.
On 6 September 2011, the European Court of Justice issued its judgement
where it indicated that:
a) the previous understanding of the scope of GMO legislation was wrong
(this legislation was fully applicable to GM pollen in honey) and b) that pollen
in honey was to be considered as an ingredient.