Honey Monitoring Program and results
Learn about OMAFRA's Honey Monitoring Program and see a summary of the program’s results from the past five years.
Overview
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) administers an annual Honey Monitoring Program to assess samples of Ontario honey for compliance with Ontario Regulation 119/11 - Produce, Honey and Maple Products (O. Reg. 119/11) under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001. Anyone in Ontario who packs, labels, transports or sells honey, and is not federally licensed, must comply with this regulation.
About the process
1. Sample collection
Samples of Ontario honey are collected by appointed inspectors under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001. Samples are randomly collected from points of sale across the province, including retail stores, roadside stands, farmers' markets and farm gate.
Samples undergo:
- laboratory analysis by the University of Guelph’s Agriculture and Food Laboratory
- container and label review to determine whether they meet various requirements under O. Reg. 119/11
2. Container and label review
After a honey sample is collected, an OMAFRA inspector reviews the label and the sample container to assess whether they meet the regulation’s requirements for:
- container size
- container characteristics
- labelling
Farm gate honey (honey from the producer’s own apiary and sold directly to the consumer from the producer's place of residence), comb honey and honey in containers of 150 grams or less have different labelling requirements.
OMAFRA inspectors take the retail location, container size, and type of honey (comb or non-comb) into consideration when determining whether the container and label are compliant with O. Reg. 119/11.
3. Lead and chemical analysis
O. Reg. 119/11 prohibits the sale, transportation or packaging of honey that is contaminated.
All samples are analyzed by the University of Guelph's Agriculture and Food Laboratory for the presence of:
- lead
- sulfonamides (15 types)
- tetracycline
- oxytetracycline
- chlortetracycline
- lincomycin
- tylosin
- penicillin
- erythromycin
- chloramphenicol
- fumagillin
Levels detected are compared to the maximum allowable levels and guidelines set by the federal government. Samples with levels that exceed these limits are considered non-compliant with O. Reg. 119/11.
4. Grade and colour classification
Honey labels must include a grade and colour class that meet various criteria under O. Reg. 119/11. This requirement does not apply to comb honey, farm gate honey or honey packed in containers that are less than 150 grams.
Grade and colour testing verification has been discontinued in 2022.
5. Receiving results
All producers receive a letter detailing the testing results and label/container review for their honey sample.
Compliance action
If container, grade, colour, or labelling requirements are not met, OMAFRA works with the person responsible for the honey to bring these products into compliance.
The first progressive stage usually involves providing education and advice to the producer. If producers do not adjust their practices to meet regulatory requirements, additional compliance action is taken which may include:
- verbal or written warnings
- compliance orders
- product detention
- seizure
- fines/tickets under the Provincial Offences Act
When lead or chemicals are detected above Health Canada's allowable level or guidelines, the honey producer and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) are immediately notified. Arrangements are made for an OMAFRA inspector to follow-up with the producer to help identify causes of the contamination and suggest corrective action. Compliance action could include the collection of additional samples, product detention, disposal and/or recall.
Program Results
The following tables provide an aggregate summary of the results from OMAFRA's Honey Monitoring Program from 2018 to 2022.
Please note that the results from this program are not statistically viable and cannot be used to generalize the state of the honey industry.
Table 1. Samples collected for OMAFRA's Honey Monitoring Program
Year | Total number of samples collected | Number of samples collected from retail | Number of samples collected from farm gate |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | 50 | 16 | 34 |
2021 | 50 | 6 | 44 |
2020 | 50 | 6 | 44 |
2019 | 100 | 7 | 93 |
2018 | 150 | 113 | 37 |
Honey label review
Table 2. Summary of retail honey label requirements
Label Information | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of labels reviewed | 16 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 113 |
All requirements present | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 66 |
'Honey' missing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Net weight missing | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
Grade missing | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 18 |
Colour missing | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 19 |
Name or complete addressing missing | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
Table 3. Summary of farm gate honey label requirements
Label Information | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of labels reviewed | 34 | 44 | 42 | 91 | 37 |
All requirements present | 27 | 36 | 24 | 35 | 24 |
'Honey' missing | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 1 |
Name or complete addressing missing | 7 | 8 | 18 | 30 | 3 |
Lead and chemical analysis
Table 4. Number of samples with lead or chemical residues over the alertable levels
Analyte | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lead (Alertable level is 0.2 parts per million) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Sulfonamides | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tetracycline (Alertable level is 0.075 parts per million) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Oxytetracycline | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chlortetracycline | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Lincomycin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tylosin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Penicillin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Erythromycin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chloramphenicol | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fumagillin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Grade and colour classification
Table 5. Retail honey labels reviewed for grade and colour classification (Note: Grade and colour testing was discontinued in 2022)
Label Information | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of samples collected | N/A | 6 | 6 | 7 | 113 |
Number labelled with the correct | N/A | 3 | 2 | 4 | 63 |
Number labelled with the correct colour class | N/A | 2 | 1 | 1 | 43 |
Contact us
For more information about OMAFRA's Honey Monitoring Program or to obtain results prior to 2018, please contact the Inspection Programs Unit by email at fpo.omafra@ontario.ca or call
Footnotes
- footnote[*] Back to paragraph Indicates that the requirements were present on the label; not verified as correct.
- footnote[**] Back to paragraph Moisture level was the only grade requirement measured when determining if the grade indicated on the label was correct. Additional grade requirements are described in Table 2 of O. Reg. 119/11.