Romania considers it necessary to amend the legislation regarding the labeling of honey sold in the European Union and will actively participate in the legislative process, the Minister of Agriculture, Petre Daea, said in Brussels, according to Agerpres.
„Romania, as the first producer of honey in the European Union facing a series of difficulties regarding the sale of this product, considers it necessary and welcome to amend the legislation, in such a way that the market offers stability and transparency. Therefore, we ask the European Commission to start the procedure for revising the legislation regarding the labeling of honey marketed in the EU, in order to correctly inform consumers and thus contribute to combating misleading practices and the disadvantage of European honey producers, who thus record important financial losses”, argued Daea in his intervention at the meeting Agriculture and Fisheries Council on the topic of honey mixture labeling and the review of the Council Directive on honey (2001/110/EC).
According to the cited source, the revision of the Honey Directive represents an opportunity to significantly improve market transparency by providing detailed and useful information on the origin of honey and thus restore consumer confidence.
„In the legislative process, Romania will participate actively, being convinced that it responds to the legitimate wishes of both beekeepers and consumers,” the Minister of Agriculture said.
Romania has repeatedly requested, together with other EU states, to change the honey labeling legislation by clearly indicating the country of origin, regardless of whether it comes from EU countries or third countries, so that consumers are informed about the origin and quality honey.
Romania produces, on average, 22,000 tons of honey annually, ranking fourth in Europe, with 1.47 million bee families.
At the national level, around 40,000 beekeepers are registered, over 60% of them being members of the Romanian Beekeepers’ Association (ACA), with an effective number of 900,000 bee families.
Agerpres
