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Oct 7

BeeLife Joins EU's Honey Platform as a Member of the Expert Group of DG AGRI

Updated: Oct 9


BeeLife just became a member of the newly established Honey Platform, an Expert Group of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). DG AGRI created the Honey Platform in line with the revised Honey Directive (Council Directive 2001/110/EC) to strengthen honey authenticity, quality control, and traceability across the European Union. 


The Honey Platform brings together national authorities, stakeholders from the honey supply chain, civil society organisations, researchers from academia, and individual experts. BeeLife joins this diverse group of experts on a mission to contribute to discussions that will shape the future of honey quality and authenticity criteria and regulation in Europe [1].


As a member of the Honey Platform, BeeLife will collaborate on key tasks set out in the revised Honey Directive. These include:


  • Providing recommendations for establishing a Union-wide traceability system that will enable honey to be traced back to its source, whether the original beekeeper or importer.

  • Contributing to the review of honey’s composition and quality parameters, ensuring that standards reflect the highest levels of purity, sustainability, and consumer protection.

  • Offering input on creating a Union reference laboratory to support honey testing and quality control across all Member States [2].


BeeLife, representing the interests of beekeepers and environmental and social sustainability, brings its expertise to the Honey Platform. The European honey sector faces significant challenges, including widespread honey adulteration and the decline of bee populations due to various environmental pressures. BeeLife aims to work alongside partner members of the Honey Platform to tackle these challenges and promote sustainable practices and transparency in the honey supply chain. By ensuring the integrity of honey, BeeLife also seeks to support beekeepers, safeguard the cultural value of beekeeping, and preserve biodiversity (dependent on pollination services). BeeLife and its members look forward to the collaborative efforts with DG Agri and members of the Honey Platform.


References

[1] Gray, A., Adjlane, N., Arab, A., Ballis, A., Brusbardis, V., Bugeja Douglas, A., … Brodschneider, R. 2022. Honey bee colony loss rates in 37 countries using the COLOSS survey for winter 2019–2020: the combined effects of operation size, migration and queen replacement. Journal of Apicultural Research, 62(2), 204–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2022.2113329 





About BeeLife 


BeeLife European Beekeeping Coordination is an umbrella non-profit organisation dedicated to the protection of bees and pollinators in the European Union. Through research, advocacy, and collaboration, BeeLife works to promote a sustainable environment where pollinators can thrive, ensuring biodiversity and food security in Europe.



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