Honey Grading and Marking Rules 2023

7513 GI/202 3 (1) रजिस्ट्री सं. डी.एल.- 33004/99 REGD. No . D. L. -33004/99 EXTRAORDINARY PART II —Section 3 —Sub-section ( i) PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 693] NEW DELH I, WEDNES DAY , DECEMBER 6, 2023/ AGRAHAYANA 15, 1945 CG-HR-E-06122023-250448 श्रेणी……………………………………………………………… (अजधकतम ) 20.0 20.0 20.0 0.99 तक (अजधकतम ) 0.10 0.30 0.50 trisaccharides / Δδ13C fructose -protein /Δδ13C glucose -disaccharides /Δδ13C glucose -trisaccharides /Δδ13C gluco se- protein /Δδ13C disaccharides -trisaccharides / Δδ13C disaccharid es-protein /Δδ13C trisaccharides -protein) क े मध्य िेखा MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE (Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare) NOTIFIC ATION New Delhi, the 6th December , 2023 G.S.R 876(E).—Following draft of the Honey Grading and Marking Rules, 202 3 which the Central Government proposes to make in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 (1 of 1937) in supersession of the Honey Grading and Marking Rules, 2008 except as respect things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, is hereby published, as required by the said section for information of all persons likely to be affected thereby; and notice is hereby given that the said draft rules shall be taken into consideration after the expiry of a period of forty -five days from the date on which copies of the Gazette containing this notification are made available to the public. Objections or suggestions which may be received from any person with respect to the said draft rules before the expiry of the above said period shall be taken into consideration by the Central Government. Objections or suggestions, if any, in respect of the said draft rules, may be forwarded to the Agricultural Marketing Adviser to the Government of India, Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, Head Office, CGO Complex, NH - IV, Farid abad (Har yana) 121001 DRAFT RULES 1. Short title, application and commencement .— (1) These rules shall be called the Honey Grading and Marking Rules, 2023. (2) They shall a pply to Honey mentioned in Rule -1(3) intended for human consumption. (3) Honey is the natural sw eet substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of the ir own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in the honey comb to ripen and mature. a) “Blossom Honey or Nectar Honey ” is the honey whi ch comes from nectars of plants. b) “Honeydew Honey ” is the honey which comes mainly from excretions of plant sucking insects (Hemiptera) on the living parts of plants or secretions of living pa rts of plants. c) “Carvia Callosa Honey” is the honey derived from Carvia ca lossa plant’s flo wer which is described as thixotrop ic and is gel like extremely viscou s when standing still and turn s into liquid when agitated or stirred . (4) They shall come into force from the date of their final publication in the Official Gazette. 2. Definitions. — (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, - (a) “Act” means the Agricultural Produce (Gr ading and Marking) Act, 1937 (1 of 1937); (b) "Agricultural Marketing Adviser" means the Agricultural Marketing Adviser to the Government of Ind ia; (c) "Authorized packer" means a person or a body of persons who has been granted a certificate of authorization to grade and mark Honey in accordance with the grade standards and procedure prescribed under these rules and the General Grading and M arking Rules, 1988; (d) "Certificate of Authorization" means a certificate issued under the provisions of the General Grading and Marking Rules, 1988 authorizing a person or a body of persons to grade and mark Honey with the grade designation mark; (e) "Gene ral Grading and Marking Rules" means the General Grading and Marking Rules, 1988 made under section 3 of the Agric ultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 (1 of 1937); (f) "Grade designation mark" means “Agmark insignia” referred to in rule 3; (g) “Lega l Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules” means the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, made under t he Legal Metrology Act, 2009 (1 of 2010); and (h) "Schedule" means a schedule appended to these rules. (2) Words and expressions used in these rules and not defined but defined in the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 and General Grading an d Marking Rules, 1988 shall have the same meaning as are assigned to them under the said act or the rules. 3. Grade Designation Mark. -The grade designation mark shall consist of the design of "AGMARK Insignia" as set out in Schedule -I, incorporating the certi ficate of authorization number, the word "AGMARK", the name of commodity and its grade. 4. Grade designations. - The grade designations to indi cate the quality of Honey including the criteria for grade designation shall be as set out in Schedule - II. 5. Quality . - For the purposes of these rules, the quality of Honey shall be as specified in Schedule - II. 6. Method of packing . - (1) Honey shall be packed in suitable packaging material in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Re gulations, 2018 and Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. (2) Honey shall be packed in pack sizes either in accordance with th e provisions of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules or as allowed by the Agricultural Marketing Adviser under rule 11 of the General Grading and Marking Rules. (3) The containers shall not be composed wholly or partly of any poisonous or deleterious substances which renders the contents injurious to health. (4) The containers shall also be free from insect infestati on, fungus contamination and should not impart any obnoxious and undesirable odor or flavor to the product. The screwed caps shal l be of non -corrosive and non - reactive material to honey. (5) Graded material of small pack sizes of the same lot or batch and grad e may be packed in a master container with complete details thereon along with grade designation mark. (6) Each package shall cont ain Honey of the same type and of the same grade designation. (7) Each package shall be properly and securely closed and sealed so as to disallow spilling. 7. Method of labeling .—(1) The grade designation mark shall be securely affixed to or clearly and indelibly printed on each package or container in the manner approved by the Agricultural Marketing Adviser or the offic er authorized by him under Rule 11 of the General Grading and Marking Rules. Honey shall be marked suitably on packaging in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display) Regulations, 2020 . (2) In addition to the grade d esignation mark, the following particulars shall be clearly and indelibly marked on each package or container, namely — (a) name of the commodity; (b) grade; (c) variety or trade name (optional); (d) lot /batch number; (e) date of packing*; (f) nutritional information; (g) net weight ; (h) name and address of the authorized packer; (i) maximum retail price (inclusive of all taxes); (j) BEST BEFORE________ __MONTH______YEAR; (k) storage condition ,if any (l) any other particulars as may be specified under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011 or under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018 and the Food Safety and Standards (Label ing and Display) Regulations, 2020 or any other law for the time being in force or any instructions issued under provisions of the Act. * The dat e of packing shall be the date of completion of the analysis of the sample . (3) The ink used for marking on packages shall not contaminate the Honey. (4) As per the labeling provisions made under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018 and the Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display) Regulations, 2020 honey shall be labeled as: (a) Honeydew H oney - If the product complies with the definitions given in Rule 1 (3); (b) Blend of Honeydew Honey and Blossom Honey – If the product is mixture of Blosso m or Nectar Honey and Honeydew honey. (c) Carvia Callosa Honey - If the product complies with the definition s given in Rule 1 (3). (5) If the honey is obtained by pressing broodless combs, honey shall be labeled as “Pressed Honey”. If honey belongs to any of the c ategories mentioned in Rule 7 (4) above and also falling into the category of pressed honey, it shall be labeled as “Pressed Honeydew Honey” or “Pressed and Blend of Honeydew Honey and Blossom Honey” or “Pressed Carvia Callosa Honey”. (6) Honey may be designat ed according to floral or plant source if it comes wholly or mainly from any particular source and has t he organoleptic, physicochemical and microscopic properties corresponding with that origin. It shall be in addition to the labeling requirements mention ed in Rule 7 (4) & (5) above: a) Monofloral Honey - If the minimum pollen content of the plant species conc erned is not less than 45 percent of total pollen content; b) Multi Floral Honey – If the pollen content of any of the plant species does not exceed 45 per cent of the total pollen content. (7) The authorized packer may after obtaining prior approval of the Agricultural Marketing Adviser or an officer authorized by him under rule 11 of General Grading & Marking Rules, mark his private trade mark or trade brand on the graded packages provided the same do not indicate quality other than that indicated by the gr ade designation mark affixed to the graded packages in accordance with these rules. 8. Special conditions for grant of certificate of authorization . - In additio n to the conditions specified in sub -rule (8) of rule 3 of the General Grading and Marking Rules, every authorized packer shall comply the conditions specified under these rules. (1) The authorized packer shall either set up his own laboratory as per norms iss ued under rule 8 of the General Grading and Marking Rules or have access to an approved State Gra ding Laboratory or cooperative or association laboratory or a private commercial laboratory manned by a qualified chemist approved by the Agricultural Marketin g Adviser or the officer authorized by him under rule 9 of the General Grading and Marking Rules, for testing the quality of Honey. (2) The premises of authorized packer shall be maintained in hygienic and sanitary conditions with proper ventilations and well lighted arrangement and the personnel engaged in these operations shall be in sound health and fr ee from any infectious, contagious or communicable diseases. (3) The premises of the authorized packer shall have adequate storage facilities with pucca floor and free from dampness, any kind of cracks and crevices, rodent and insect infestation. (4) The authorize d packer and the approved chemist shall observe all instructions regarding testing, grading, packing, marking, sealing and maintenance of records which may be issued by the Agricultural Marketing Adviser or an officer authorized by him in this behalf in ac cordance with the General Grading and Marking Rules from time to time. (5) The surrounding area or environment shall be free from objectionable odor, smoke, dust o r air borne pathological contaminations. All equipment’s and utensils shall be made of food grade stainless steel only SCHEDULE -I (See rule 3) (Design of Agmark Insignia) CA No. NAME OF COMMODITY_____________ GRADE___________ ____ SCHEDULE -II Grade designation and quality of Honey (see rules 4 and 5) 1. "Honey" is the natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific sub stances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in the honey comb to ripen and mature. 2. Minimum requirements: (i) Honey shall be, - (a) well ripened, natural product pr oduced by honeybees; (b) having sweet flavor, pleasant aroma and taste characteristic to va riety; (c) possess uniform color, varying from light golden to dark brown depending upon the source; (d) free from visible mould, inorganic or organic matters such as insects, i nsect debris, brood or grains of sand dirt, pieces of beeswax, the fragments of bees an d other insects and free from any other extraneous matter; (e) free of any added food additives such as color, vitamins, minerals, saccharin and suspended particles; (f) free of toxic substances arising from the microorganisms or plants which may constitute a haza rd to health; (g) free of any objectionable flavor, aroma or taint absorbed from foreign matter during its processing and storage; (ii) Honey shall not have begun to ferment or e ffervesce. Filtration is permitted to remove objectionable matter provided sufficient pollen grains which characterized the honey are retained. (iii) Honey shall have been strained clear through a double thickness of muslin cloth/mesh/filter (150 microns) at a t emperature below 65 C. (iv) Honey shall not be heated to such an extent that it s essential composition is changed and/or its quality is impaired. (v) For domestic trade, it shall comply with the restrictions in regard to residual levels of metal contaminants, an tibiotic residues, pesticide residues, microbial requirements, naturally oc curring toxic substances and other food safety requirements as specified under the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011, Food Safety and S tandards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, and other regulations made for domestic trade under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (34 of 2006). (vi) For export trade, it shall comply with the residual limits of heavy metals, an tibiotic residues, pesticides and other food safety requirements as laid down by the Codex Alimentarius Commission or importing countries requirement for export. 3. Criteria for grade designation and quality: TABLE Sl. No. Parameters Grade designation Spec ial Standard General 1 Specific gravity at 27 C, (Minimum) 1.41 1.37 1.35 2 Moisture, percentage by mass, (Maximum) 20.0 20.0 20.0 3 Total reducing sugars, percentage by mass, (Minimum) For the Honey not listed below 76.0 73.0 65.0 Carvia - callosa and Honeydew honey 60.0 60.0 60.0 Blends of Honeydew honey with blossom honey 45.0 45.0 45.0 4 Sucrose, percentage by mass, (Maximum) For the Honey not listed below 2.0 3.5 5.0 Carvia -callosa & Honeydew honey 10.0 10.0 10.0 5 Fructose and G lucose ratio (F/G Ratio) More than 1.19 to 1.50 More than 0.99 to 1.19 More than 0.95 to 0.99 6 Total Ash, percentage by mass, (Maximum) 0.10 0.30 0.50 7 Acidity expressed as formic acid, percentage by mass, (Maximum) 0.20 0.20 0.20 Free Acidity Mil li equivalents acid/1000g, (Maximum) 50 50 50 8 Hydroxy Methyl Furfural (H.M.F.) mg/kg (Maximum) 50 70 80 9 Diastase activity in schade units per gram, (Minimum) 3.0 3.0 3.0 10 Water insoluble matters percentage (Maximum) a) For the Honey not listed bel ow 0.10 0.10 0.10 b) For Pressed honey 0.50 0.50 0.50 11 C4 Sugar, per cent by mass, Max. 7.0 7.0 7.0 12 Total count of pollen and plant elements/g Apiary Honey (Maximum) 15,000 25,000 50,000 Squeezed Honey (Minimum) 5,000 5,000 5,000 13 2-Acetylfuran -3-Glucopyranoside (2 -AFGP) as Marker for Rice Syrup Absent3 Absent3 Absent3 14 Foreign oligosaccharides (Max. Percent Peak Area) 0.7 0.7 0.7 15 Proline, mg/kg, Minimum 180.0 180.0 180.0 16 Electrical Conductivity Honeys not listed under H oneydew, Max. 0.8 mS/cm 0.8 mS/cm 0.8 mS/cm Honeys listed under Honeydew, Min. 0.8 mS/cm 0.8 mS/cm 0.8 mS/cm 17 (a) Δδ13C Max2. (Maximum difference between all measured δ13C values); per mil (‰) ± 2.1 ± 2.1 ± 2.1 (b) Δδ13CFru – Glu (The difference in 13C/12C ratio between fructose and glucose); per mil(‰) ± 1.0 ± 1.0 ± 1.0 (c) Δδ13C Protein – Honey (The difference in 13C/12C between honey and its associated protein extract); per mil(‰) ≥ – 1.0 ≥ – 1.0 ≥ – 1.0 18 Optical Density at 660 nm (Maximum) 0.20 0.20 0.30 19 Fiehe’s Test Negative Negative Negative 20 Aniline Chloride Test Negative Negative Negative Note: 1. If Fiehe’s test is positive, but Hydroxy Methyl Furfural (H.M.F.) content is below 80 p.p.m. then honey may be accepted. 2. Δδ13C Max. is th e maximum difference observed between all possible isotopic ratios measured(Δδ13C fructose -disaccharides/ Δδ13C fructose -trisaccharides/ Δδ13C fructose -protein/Δδ13C glucose - disaccharides /Δδ13C glucose -trisaccharides/Δδ13C glucose -protein/Δδ13C disacchar ides-trisaccharides/ Δδ13C disaccharides -protein /Δδ13C trisaccharides -protein). 3. Minimum Required Performance Level - 1 mg/kg 4. Other requirements: (i) Honey shall be homogeneous. It may be warmed before use, if granulated. (ii) Honey shall be stored in cool and dry p lace maintained in hygienic condition. Explanations: (1) “Apiary honey” is the honey produced from domesticated beehives. (2) “Blossom honey” or “Nectar honey” is the honey which comes from nectar of pl ants. (3) “Carvia Callosa honey” is the honey derived from carviac alossa plant’s flower which is described as thixotropic and is gel like extremely viscous when standing still and turned into liquid when agitated or stirred. (4) “Extracted honey” is honey obtained by centrifuging decapped broodless combs; or without the application of moderate heat. (5) "Honeydew honey" is the honey which comes mainly from excretions of plant sucking insects (Hemiptera ) on the living parts of plants or secretions of living part s of plants. (6) “Squeezed honey” or “Pressed Honey” is honey obtained by pressing or squeezing of broodless combs. [F. No. Q -11047/05/Honey/2021 -Std] FAIZ AHMED KIDWAI , Addl. Secy. (Marketing) Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring R oad, Mayapuri, New Delhi -110064 and Published by the Cont roller of Publications, Delhi -110054.