REGULATORY STANDARDS OF HONEY SAFETY AND QUALITY

Abstract

Modern beekeeping industry globalization leads to an increase in competition between countries for the foreign market. The products that provide the appropriate level of safety and quality following international requirements would be able to gain a competitive advantage. Establishing a competitive advantage for honey on the world market and improving exports/import process with the guaranteed observance of consumers’ rights and interests require a systematic revision of regulatory documentation for beekeeping products. The study aimed to analyze the current international and national regulations governing the safety and quality of honey. Critical analysis of normative documentation, a comparison of international, European, and Ukrainian requirements for physicochemical indicators of honey quality and content of dangerous contaminants, as well as the study of the organic beekeeping regulation was made. It was found that the national regulatory framework for the safety and quality of honey needs to be optimized. Order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food (Ukraine) of June 19, 2019, № 330 contains requirements that are more adapted to international and European standards for honey quality criteria compared to current national requirements. Order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food (Ukraine) of June 19, 2019, № 330 still needs to be improved for items governing the value of moisture content and mineral content as well as diastasis activity of honey components. Concerning the production of organic beekeeping products, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced the current EU regulatory framework for organic beekeeping.