German Honey Guidelines (Leitsätze)
Lexikon
The guidelines for honey are part of the German Food Code and describe what is generally understood by particular names such as acacia honey, rapeseed honey, or forest honey.
The guidelines for honey are part of the German Food Code and describe what is generally understood by particular names such as acacia honey, rapeseed honey, or forest honey. Unlike the Honey Ordinance, they are not binding law but a description of good professional practice drawn up by a commission of experts, which is used as an aid to interpretation in disputes and inspections. They thus supplement the legal definition of honey with specific characteristics for individual varieties and with voluntary quality grades.
Of particular practical relevance are the two quality grades Auslese and Premium defined in the guidelines. For the Auslese grade, a water content of at most 18 percent, an HMF content of at most 15 milligrams per kilogram, and an invertase activity of at least 60 units per kilogram apply; for the higher grade Premium or feine Auslese, even stricter values apply, with at most 10 milligrams of HMF and at least 85 units of invertase. For heather honey, a water content of up to 19 percent is permitted in both grades, because this honey naturally contains more water.
In addition, the guidelines contain detailed profiles of individual varietal honeys, describing typical color, aroma, taste, and consistency as well as microscopic and physico-chemical parameters, such as the minimum share of certain pollen or the typical electrical conductivity. A common misconception is to confuse the guidelines with the legal Honey Ordinance or even to equate them with the still stricter association requirements of the German Beekeepers' Association; in fact these are three separate levels that build on one another and are binding to different degrees.