Legal Moisture Content of Honey

When light enters a liquid, it changes direction; This is called refraction. A refractometer measures the degree to which light changes direction, called a refractive angle. This angle is associated with the water content of the liquid and is visible at the scale of the refractometer. Above, a photo of the water content of liquid honey I submitted to the New Jersey Beekeepers Association Honey Show. You can see how the blue zone reaches 17%. Pretty nice read! And in the judge`s scoresheet, this corresponds to the highest score for moisture content. What is the best way to measure humidity with a refractometer? During the cold winter months, bees rely on the sweet substance to maintain their energy levels and sustain life in the hive without leaving the hive at low temperatures. Therefore, they seal the honey at the right level of moisture. Another important point is the issue of honey pollen. The European draft stipulates that no essential constituent of honey may be removed from honey, while paragraph 3.2 of Codex stipulates that honey must not be processed to such an extent that its essential composition is altered (see also annex). Both statements are ambiguous. There could be different interpretations as to whether honey pollen is an essential component of honey. Although this does not matter from a nutritional point of view, since the honey pollen content is less than 0.01% of the total, it is important to determine the botanical and geographical origin of honey.

Honey is also used for pollen desensitization in some cases due to its low pollen content. The honey industry`s argument is that fine filtration is often necessary to remove small foreign particles, which affects the quality of honey. On the other hand, point 6.1.7 of the Codex specifies that honey which undergoes a fine filtration process to improve its clarity must bear a label to inform the consumer of this process. The best solution would be to include a paragraph stating that honey should be filtered with filters with a mesh size of at least 0.2 mm, which retain pollen in honey but remove most impurities from honey. Various European beekeeping associations prescribe the use of such filters for their honey regulations. The internationally recognized standard states that honey must have a moisture content of less than 20%. (23% for heather honey in the UK). Beekeepers must ensure with a high degree of accuracy that the moisture content of their honey is within the legal limits. The quality criteria for honey are defined in a European directive (1) and in the Codex Alimentarius standard (2), both of which are currently under revision (3,4). The authors of this review are members of the International Honey Commission (IHC), which was established in 1990 to review methods and standards for honey. The Commission developed the analytical methods used today for the routine control of honey and carried out proficiency tests in collaboration with the Honey Commission of the Swiss Food Manual (SFM).

The methods were first published in SFM (5) and then in a slightly modified form elsewhere (6). This work of the Commission was led by Stefan Bogdanov. The IHC, chaired by Werner von der Ohe, is currently working on the compositional criteria for single-flower honeys. The moisture content of honey balances with the humidity of the air to which it is exposed. Therefore, it is extremely important to have this variable under control. If the need for treatment in early summer is urgent because the Varroa infestation is significant, the honey may need to be harvested early, and some of the honey may contain excess moisture. Thanks for the interesting information about honey. Another reason honey may have too much water is that it has been stored in the wrong container. If the container is not airtight, honey absorbs moisture from the air and has an excessive water content. I never understood those clay honey jars with a hole for the honey cart on the edge of the lid.

Honey with a moisture content between 18.6 and 20% is considered grade C. Anything that contains more than 20% moisture is considered inferior. Draft Codex Alimentarius and EU honey standardsThe latest draft Codex Alimentarius honey standard is fully contained in the following appendix. If adopted, this standard should be enforced by honey trade governments worldwide.