In a strong effort to protect consumers and support local beekeepers, Cyprus has passed a new law with strict rules about how honey is labeled and defined. The changes, approved in June 2024, create much clearer standards to tell the difference between pure honey and lower-quality or mixed products. The law will take effect in June 2025, bringing Cyprus closer to European Union guidelines and aiming to end widespread confusion in the market.
The need for these new rules comes from growing worries about products sold as honey that contain very little real honey. For years, beekeepers have complained that unclear labels allowed mixtures of sweeteners and flavors to be sold as authentic honey. This damaged consumer trust and put honest beekeepers at a disadvantage. Cyprus’s Health Services led the work to reform the law and fix this unclear market situation.
A key part of the new "2025 Honey Regulations" is a complete ban on the term "filtered honey" on labels. Now, this term can only be used for honey that has had natural elements like pollen removed—a process often linked to lower quality. The law also requires clear information about where the honey comes from. If a product is a blend, it must state the exact percentage of real honey inside.
Another major change is the updated definition of "confectionery honey." This category will now clearly include honey that has had foreign substances or large amounts of pollen taken out. By making this definition broader, authorities create a separate, regulated group for lower-grade products. This helps protect the market for pure honey. Polydoros Costas, President of the Cyprus Beekeepers’ Association, supports the changes. He said that consumers often think they are buying honey, but are actually getting "a liquid substance, with a sweetener and a little aroma."
The new rules will have big practical effects. Importers and local producers have a six-month period after the law starts to get detailed information from suppliers and change their packaging. After June 14, 2025, the Health Services will begin checking products and enforcing the rules. Goods that do not comply will be removed from stores.
This law is expected to greatly impact Cyprus’s food industry. Consumers will enjoy more transparency, helping them make better choices. For local beekeepers, the regulations should create fairer competition by protecting their genuine product against cheaper, misleading alternatives. As 2025 approaches, the focus will be on how the industry adapts and how strictly the rules are enforced, which will decide if Cyprus succeeds in defending the quality of its honey.