Date of Issue: 9 Sep 2022
Date of Effect: 1 July 2023
Reference Number: MAA 2022-07
Attention
- Industry bodies – Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, Australian Food and Grocery Council
- Exporters
- Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Central and Regional offices
Purpose
This Market Access Advice provides information on changes to the labelling requirements of pre-packaged honey and honey products exported to Taiwan that will come to effect on 1 July 2023.
This regulation applies to Taiwan’s pre-packaged honey and syrup products sold to both consumers and businesses, but it is not applicable to royal jelly, molasses or processing food produced from honey such as honey cake.
Summary of key points
The updated Taiwanese Regulations state that if honey is the sole ingredient, then the product is to be labelled as honey, 100% honey, pure honey or equivalent words.
For pre-packaged honey and its syrup products whose honey content is over 60%:
- If the product is added with sugar (syrup), then the product should indicate the words “sugar-added honey” or equivalent words in its name.
- If the product is added with other ingredient except sugar (syrup), then the product should indicate “xxxcontained honey”, “blended honey” or equivalent words in its name.
For pre-packaged honey and its syrup products whose honey content is less than 60%:
- The product should completely indicate “honey flavour”, “honey taste” or equivalent words in its name premising that the word “honey” is contained in the product name.
Country of origin of the honey materials shall be labelled on the outer packaging of the honey products in descending order based on the honey content. The format can be:
- Domestic honey (when honey is produced locally)
- The honey is sourced from country A, country B, country C, …
- The stakeholders can also clarify honey’s country of origin in the ingredients list, for instance, “honey (country A, country B)”.
Further information
Please refer to Regulations Governing the Labeling of Prepackaged Honey and its Syrup Products (PDF) for further detail.
Contact exportstandards@aff.gov.au if you have any queries.
The information provided above is current at the time of writing and is intended for use as guidance only and should not be taken as definitive or exhaustive. The Commonwealth endeavours to keep information current and accurate, however, it may be subject to change without notice. Exporters are encouraged to verify these details with their importers prior to undertaking production/exports. The Commonwealth will not accept liability for any loss resulting from reliance on information contained in this notice.