Honey labelling

Every beekeeper is required to indicate the following information on each jar of honey sold (ODAIOUs Art. 26, food labelling ordinance, OEDAI):

Specific designation in accordance with Art. 3 of the Ordinance on the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs (OEDAI) and Art. 78 of the Ordinance on Foodstuffs of Animal Origin (ODAIAn): “Honey” or “Bee honey”.
Date of minimum durability (Art. 11 OEDAI): if the shelf life exceeds 18 months, indicating the year is sufficient. “Best before …” if the day is stated, or “Best before end …” if only the year is given.
Origin: country of production in accordance with Art. 2 para. 1g OEDAI, e.g. “Swiss honey”, unless this is already clearly stated in the address.
Name and address of the beekeeper, packer, distributor or importer (Art. 2 para. 1f OEDAI).
Batch according to Art. 19–21 ODEAI: following the indication “L”, an indication or number must be added by which the production batch can be identified.
Net quantity: e.g. 1 kg, 500 g, 250 g net.
The minimum font sizes for indicating the net quantity are as follows: jars of 1,000 g, 500 g and 250 g: 4 mm; jars from 50 g to 200 g: 3 mm (ODqua, 941.204).

This information must appear in at least one national language and be clearly legible.

Specific designation: in certain cases, the following specific designations may be used instead of “honey”: nectar honey, forest honey (Art. 98 ODAIAn).
Indication of botanical origin: where floral or plant origin is indicated, e.g. linden honey, the honey must originate predominantly from the stated botanical source (Art. 98 ODAIAn).
Geographical designation: where a regional, territorial or topographical indication is used, e.g. honey from the Gruyère region or honey from the Conches Valley, the honey must originate from the indicated region and must not be blended with honeys from other origins (Art. 98 ODAIAn).
Nutrition declaration: it must contain the following information (Art. 21 ff. OIDAI):
Energy value and content of fat, carbohydrates, sugars, protein and salt (e.g. per 100 g: energy value: 1280 kJ (302 kcal), fat: 0 g, carbohydrates: 75 g, protein: 0.4 g, salt: 0 g).
Nutrition and/or health claims: they must comply with legal requirements in accordance with Art. 29–35 OIDAI (e.g. “Honey is a valuable source of energy”).

In particular, any claims attributing preventive, therapeutic or curative properties to honey (e.g. apitherapy) are prohibited (Art. 12 of the Ordinance on Foodstuffs and Utility Articles ODAlOUs, SR 817.02).
Unauthorised, unjustified and/or incomplete claims regarding mineral or vitamin content, e.g. “Honey contains minerals and vitamins”, are not permitted (Art. 29 and 30 OIDAI).
Incomplete nutritional labelling (e.g. stating only the energy value without specifying protein, carbohydrate and fat content) is not permitted (Art. 22 OIDAI).

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